The Night Slayer
by TheMusicMan1995
Summary: A young girl's family is killed by vampires, leaving her with a deep hatred for the monsters. Follows Dawnguard, with some original plot twists. Warning, contains same sex romance, for mature audiences
1. Chapter 1

There was a calm breeze flowing, just enough to make being outside in the heat bearable. The sky was completely empty of clouds. Such a shame. She liked clouds. But even still, the blue sky was a beautiful sight, and she was content to admire it.

Her name was Valkyrie. A young, golden-haired Nord girl, she appeared no older than the age of nine. She was out on one of her walks down the road. Being away from Karthwasten even for a little while put her mind at ease. It was nice to be out here, away from the tired griping of the miners, from the overbearing care of her brother and father. It was on these walks that she could be alone, she could think, she could just sit for a while and marvel at the landscape outside the small village she called her home. After all, The Reach was one of the most beautiful, and dangerous, regions in all of Skyrim

"VALKYRIE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

She would recognize that voice anywhere. It was Gronmir, her twenty-year old elder brother. Valkyrie knew she was in for it now. She turned around and began heading back up the road to Karthwasten.

"OVER HERE!" she shouted in response

After a moment or two, Gronmir began to come into sight. He was a typical, tall, well-built Nord with long, red, braided hair, and the makings of what would be a beard the likes of which would make most mountain men jealous. He was furious at his little sister

"Gods damn it, Valkyrie, how many times have father and I told you not to wander away from town?"

"Well, it's not like you needed me for anything. I'm too young to work in the mine, and all my chores were finished."

"I don't care. You know it's not safe out here. What if the Forsworn were to come down from the hills? What would you have done?"

Valkyrie hung her head in shame, as she had no answer to Gronmir's question. She understood why her brother and father were so overprotective of her. They had lost their mother six years earlier during a Forsworn raid. Gronmir, although he prided himself on being a man, had always been something of a mama's boy. So, when he lost his mother, he was devastated, to put it mildly. The same can be said for their father, Skjalund. He had been a joyful soul his entire life, never hesitating to spread happiness upon anyone who entered his prescence, a trait he passed on to his son. But after his wife was taken from him, the man fell apart, in a manner of speaking. He was no longer the happy, care-free man he had once been. He and his son both were now serious, stone-faced, and grim.

Valkyrie, however, hardly being old enough to remember her mother before she was killed, had begun to grow into the same joyful youngster the both of them had been. While it was refreshing to see that she was not suffering, it also broke Gronmir and Skjalund's hearts, because Valkyrie reminded them so much of her. This was why they were so protective of her. If something like that were happen again, this time to her, Gronmir and Skjalund would have nothing left.

"I... I don't know" was her timid reply

"Exactly. You don't. Now come with me back home."

The two walked back up the road to Karthwasten. As Valkyrie suspected, there was her father waiting right at the end of the road into town.

Great, here we go, she thought to herself.

"There you are. I've been worried sick! Are you mad, girl?! Do you have any idea what could have happened?!"

Skjalund scolded Valkyrie on the spot for what seemed like an age. He was constantly bringing up her mother, and what would have happened to him and Gronmir if she were to befall the same fate. Valkyrie had heard this speech far too many times, but she endured it once more, fearing that she didn't want to make her father and brother any angrier, if that was even possible.

Skjalund had been going off on her for maybe twenty minutes before a voice came from behind.

"Look, Skjalund, I understand you were worried, but I think you're being a bit harsh."

It was Einethatch. One of the few natives of The Reach to own property, which of course made him hated by most outside of Karthwasten. The Nords thought he worked for the Forsworn, and the Forsworn thought he worked for the Nords. He was the owner of the Karthwasten mine, of which Gronmir and Skjalund were both employed.

Valkyrie liked Einethatch. He appreciated her adventurous nature, found it rather adorable. He was often the one to call off Gronmir and Skjalund when Valkyrie had found herself outside of where they wanted her to be.

Einethatch's comment enraged Skjalund, as the look in his eyes showed. How dare he tell him how to raise his daughter? But he wasn't about to turn around and curse out his boss, and in doing so risk giving up what he had for his children. So he simply grunted and sent Valkyrie back to their hut.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, Skjalund and Gronmir finished their shift in the mine, then picked up dinner from the cook in the miner's barracks. Tonight it was a pot of venison stew, a loaf of bread, and two bottles of fresh Honningbrew Mead. Skjalund obviously didn't allow Valkyrie to drink, given she was so young. So he fetched a bottle of milk for her.

Dinner was silent, as it normally was. There wasn't much to talk about usually. Gronmir and Skjalund spent their days working in the mine, and Valkyrie cleaned up around the hut (and almost always found time to wander down the road from town a bit). Gronmir was just finishing his last bit of stew, when they heard the bell.

Skjalund's eyes grew as wide as the Karth River.

"By the Nine, here they come"

The bell was Karthwasten's warning system that trouble was coming. One of the miners had come up with the idea after the attack that had claimed Valkyrie's mother. A large bell was built on top of Einethatch's house, since he had the best view of the hills across the river. If saw even the slightest hint of Forsworn movement towards Karthwasten, he would sound the bell, and everyone would retreat into the now-reinforced miner barracks. It appeared now was such a time.

Skjalund held open the door for Valkyrie and Gronmir. Once outside, the three of them bolted for the barracks, where Einethatch was standing outside, shooing in all the miners. They all made it safely inside, and Einethatch battened down the hatches on the doors. They had proved to be able to keep out Forsworn before. Now all everyone could do was simply hope that the savage natives left their homes relatively intact.

"How close are the Forsworn, Einethatch?" asked Gronmir

"I don't know. They were just at the top of the hill when I saw them, so they should be here at any time."

A few moments of silence followed, and then Einethatch looked outside the window, and immediately wished he had not.

"Mara preserve us..."

"What? What's going on?" asked Skjalund, beginning to fear for his family's safety.

"It's not the Forsworn. It's something worse. Much worse."

Everyone immediately felt the urge to panic. What could possibly be worse than Forsworn? Einethatch began breathing heavily, and then uttered the one word that spelled death...

"Vampires..."

No sooner had he said the word, then had the bloodsuckers reached the town, and were tearing everything apart. Buildings were being burned, the mines were collapsing, the entire town was being destroyed. This chaos went on outside for maybe ten minutes, and still the barracks had not been touched.

"Maybe we'll be lucky, and they'll just overlook us." said one of the miners desperately

They had no such luck. No sooner had the man said those words, than one of the vampires busted through the reinforced door with the greatest of ease. Valkyrie screamed in horror as the vampire began slaughtering Einethatch and the miners one by one. In the midst of this, Skjalund and Gronmir grabbed her, and rushed her to the secret cellar door under one of the beds. Gronmir went down into the cellar first, then Valkyrie, still screaming in sheer terror, unable to comprehend what was happening. Skjalund was about to follow them down into the cellar when the vampire grabbed him from behind. The next thing Valkyrie witnessed was her father's head being literally ripped from his shoulder's by a vampire's bare hands.

Gronmir grabbed Valkyrie and pulled her down into the cellar with him. He shut the door and locked it. He then seated Valkyrie in the corner farthest from the door, and proceeded to grab Einethatch's war axe that he had always kept in here, should the need arise. At this point, Valkyrie began sobbing uncontrollably. Gronmir looked back at his sister, and kneeled down to attempt to comfort her.

"It's alright, Valkyrie. I'm still here. Everything's going to be okay."

These proved to be poor-choiced words. Just then, the cellar door was torn open, and down walked a vampire neither of them had seen yet. This one was different than the others. He was... much calmer, much more... regal, for lack of a better word. He was also at least ten times as menacing.

Gronmir charged at the vampire, axe in hand, rage in his heart, his aim to avenge his fallen father. He swung like a madman, but the vampire caught the axe with both hands, and proceeded to thrust his knee into Gronmir's assets, making the boy double over in agony, letting go of his axe in the process. The vampire, now possessing the axe, proceeded to swing the axe down towards Gronmir, landing it firmly on his jugular vein.

All the while, Valkyrie had not stopped sobbing or screaming. The vampire turned his attention to her, making his way across the room, picking her up by her neck with a single arm. It was then that the vampire spoke...

"Stop your sniveling, you little worm!"

Valkyrie was too terrified to do anything but comply. At least soon, she was sure she'd be seeing her father and brother again, but the vampire had other ideas.

"Look at you. You mortals are obedient to a falut, aren't you? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Your kind are weak, pathetic, frail little insects after all."

His grip on her neck tightened, and now she could barely breathe

"I could snap your neck right now. Just a little more pressure, and POP! Your meaningless existence brought to an end so early..."

This is it, Valkyrie thought to herself. This is where I die

"Ah, but what use would there be in killing a child? It's not like you could fight me even if you wanted to. I suppose I should let you live. After all, what you've just witnessed has likely taken away whatever will to be you may have had left anyway."

The vampire set her down. Valkyrie thought she was going to get away from this without a scratch. But the monster had a parting gift for her. He readied his claws and made a swipe at the girl's face, only going enough distance so that a single made contact. The blade removed flesh from bone, and blood began pouring. Valkyrie instantly fell down and shrieked in pain

Her last sight was the vampire climbing back up the ladder of the cellar, before her vision began to blur, then fade to nothing... 


	2. Chapter 2A

Valkyrie awoke, unable to tell how much time had passed. Her face still burned with pain, and the streaks of blood from the vampire's cut had dried on her face and clothes. She sat up, took one look at her brother's body, axe still lodged in his neck, and began to cry.

She wasn't crying like last time. This time it was simply a soft wimper. She sat there and cried for at least an hour, mourning for her family. She was all alone now...

After a while, Valkyrie picked herself up off the floor and headed for the ladder up out of the cellar. She exited the barracks, taking extra care not to look at her father's decapitated corpse. When she got outisde, she saw nothing but ruin. The miner's huts were burned and collapsed, and there was hardly anything left of Einethatch's house. They had even destroyed the bell. She looked at her own hut, walking over to see if there was anything of value she could use.

With luck, there was still a bit of milk, and a few green apples left in the ruins of her home. She was just about to set out when she noticed something... shiny under a pile of rubble. Upon a quick glance, she thought it was a simple gold necklace. Valkyrie immediately darted over to it, thinking that perhaps she could sell it and get a few septims for some food. Then she noticed there was a small dial on the side.

She turned the dial, and the necklace turned out to be a locket. Inside was a picture of Skjalund, much younger and happier, and Gronmir, maybe about her age. There was a woman in the picture, too. She was beautiful. Valkyrie realized that the woman in the picture was her mother. They looked so much alike, sharing the same long, golden hair and stern-yet-playful Nord features. She felt the urge to break down and start crying again, but snapped herself out of it. She had to be strong right now.

Valkyrie started down the road out of Karthwasten, eventually reaching the signpost. The vampires had left almost nothing of the town, but they left the signpost alone? Unbelievable.

At this time, she remembered a conversation Skjalund and Gronmir had one night when they thought she was asleep. Skjalund had informed Gronmir that if ever he were to befall the same fate as their mother, Gronmir was to take Valkyrie and leave Karthwasten. Head to Markarth, he said. Try and get some work from the Silver-Blood family, he said.

Valkyrie looked up at the signpost, and sure enough, one point directly northwest, with "Markarth" painted on it stood out to her. She began walking again...

After about twenty minutes, Valkyrie's stomach began rumbling. Having not been able to find any sort of knapsack that wasn't torn to shreds or burnt to a crisp back in Karthwasten, she had been forced to carry the bottle of milk and apples in her arms. She didn't want to stop, considering that even though the vampires were gone, the Forsworn were still a very real threat. They were known to attack in the blink of an eye, without warning. But still, the road to Markarth was long and winding, so holding out with her food wouldn't end well.

She stopped and sat down, using the skirt end of her tunic as a bowl, dropping the apples inside. She took a bite out of one of them. It was sweet, yet sour also. It felt so good to have something in her stomach.

Must have been out a long time, Valkyrie thought to herself

She munched on the apple for a few more minutes, then decided to save the rest, as she didn't know how much farther it was to Markarth, and she needed to conserve. She was about to start walking again, when she heard people running up behind her

Valkyrie turned around just in time to see a Forsworn scout descend upon her, his fist meeting her stomach.

The blow was vicious and mighty, launching Valkyrie a few feet away. She lay there in agony, unable to breathe, unable to speak. She was sure the native had broken one of her ribs. The man then put his foot on her chest, letting his weight continue to crush the breath out of her.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The Forsworn said, chuckling with delight to himself. A fresh kill, and an offering to the Old Gods. His tribe would be proud of him.

By this time, Valkyrie had begun to regain her breath, and barely managed to squeak out a reply.

"P... please, m... mister. Don't k... kill me."

The native's eyes widened with joy. The Old Gods prefered their sacrifices to be live, after all.

"Look at that. The runt has some fight left in her. Give me one good reason why I should'nt kill you"

"Please, sir. M... my family was just killed b... by vampires. I'm all alone. I'm just trying to get t... to Markarth."

"That's a nice story, bitch. Why should I give a damn?"

The man proceeded to counter Valkyrie's story with one of his own. He had watched his father be executed by the Nords, who then proceeded to throw him into Cidhna Mine with the rest of the natives. It was intended to be a life sentence, but he was let out at the age of fifteen for unknown reasons. He left Markarth and joined the Forsworn not long after. Then he began to insult, degrade, belittle anyone who was a Nord, claiming they were all evil, heartless creatures, and that the Forsworn were the rightful rulers of The Reach.  



	3. Chapter 2B

"So tell me, you think one little sob story is gonna make up for the injustices your kind has inflicted?"

Valkyrie desperately tried to argue back...

"Sir, please. I'm nine years old! Maybe some of the Nords have done terrible things to your people. I can't defend or excuse them. But I haven't done anything, and neither did my family before they died."

It was a desperate attempt to prolong her life, and Valkyrie knew she was grasping at straws, that there was very little she could say that could convince this savage to spare her life. But then, the man did something she hadn't expected. He remained silent for a moment, then took his foot off of Valkyrie's chest.

"Get out of my sight, bitch."

She complied. She picked herself off the ground and ran. She hadn't even bothered to pick up the milk or apples she had dropped when he attacked her. They were probably inedible from the dirt anyway.

Valkyrie ran. And she ran. And she ran, and ran, and ran some more, all the way to the gates of Markarth. By the time she arrived, the sun was beginning to set, and she was dripping with sweat and exhaustion. One of the guards immediately noticed the sweaty, exhausted child making her way up the steps to the main gate.

"Wait a moment, child. Who are you? Why are you all alone out here?"

Valkyrie had only just stopped running, so it took a moment for her to catch her breath.

"My... name is Valkyrie. I... I just came from Karthwasten. The town was... attacked."

"By the Eight! Did the Forsworn leave anyone alive?"

"It wasn't... the Forsworn. It was vampires."

The guard's eyes widened, although Valkyrie couldn't see them under his helmet. This was bad news. If vampires were attacking people, the Forsworn would have to wait.

"Come on, kid. You'd better come with me to talk to the Jarl."

The guard took Valkyrie's hand, and opened the door to the gate for her.

Valkyrie's first sight of Markarth nearly took away her breath once again. The structures that made up the buildings seemed so... intricate. Not anything she had ever seen built by Nords, that's for sure. The marketplace was directly inside the gate, the merchants seemed to be closing up for the evening, and payed her no mind as she walked. They had other things to worry about.

Valkyrie and the guard made their way through the streets of Markarth, past the Temple of Dibella, eventually reaching Understone Keep, the Jarl's palace, which appeared to be built into the mountainside. They entered the Keep, where just inside, Valkyrie spotted an old man yelling at a priest over something about the Hall Of The Dead.

"Hey mister, who's that man?" She asked the guard after they passed

"That would be Thongvor Silver-Blood. His family runs Markarth."

Silver-Blood! The name Skjalund had spoken of! Maybe everything was about to turn out alright. The guard let Valkyrie up one final flight of stairs, when she caught sight of the Jarl. Igmund. Son of Hrolfdir. Valkyrie had heard stories about him, but seeing him in person made her stand in awe.

"My Jarl, we bring news! Karthwasten has been attacked!" The guard said when they reached the Mournful Throne.

"Attacked? Damn those savage natives! And hold on, who is this girl?"

"She is the lone survivor, my lord. And also... it... it wasn't the Forsworn."

"Not the Forsworn? What else could it have been?"

The guard looked down at Valkyrie, gesturing a "go on" motion at her. She stepped foward, the images of her father and brother dying right in front of her still in the back of her mind as she said the word...

"Vampires..."

The Jarl's face grew grim. This was not what he had expected.

"Vampires?! Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes sir. I saw them. They... they killed my family."

At this point, Valkyrie could stand it no longer, she got down on her knees and began to weep. The steward, a man named Raeorek, kneeled beside her, attempting to offer her some comfort.

"There, there, child. Come with me. I'll have the cook prepare you a meal. You can sleep in the Jarl's spare bed tonight, and we'll get you sorted out in the morning."

Valkyrie somehow managed to pick herself up and follow Raeorek to the kitchen.

The cook was less than thrilled when they walked in.

"By the Gods, another mouth to feed? I barely have enough for you and your milk drinker of a nephew. You know supplies were low this week."

Raeorek reached out and backhanded the cook so hard he nearly fell over.

"Don't you ever speak ill of Igmund again! And furthermore, this child has been through a lot recently, so you WILL find something to prepare for her!"

The cook was enraged, but held his temper for fear of his job.

"I'm sorry about him, child. He's never been very pleasant company. Honestly, I don't understand why Igmund keeps him on. You never did tell me your name, by the way."

"It's ok, sir. And I'm Valkyrie."

The rest of the evening passed rather quickly. Valkyrie ate her meal, salmon steak and mashed potatoes, in the Jarl's quarters, and Raeorek even let her have a sip of wine when nobody was looking. But she still had a few hours left before time to go to bed, so Valkyrie decided to wander the keep a bit. She briefly made the aquantaince of Ondolemar, a Thalmor agent who responded to her greeting by shoving her out of the way and saying nothing.

Asshole, she thought.

After a while she began to smell smoke. But it was odd, because the kitchen was all the way on the other side of the keep. She peered through the door of which the smell was coming, and she saw a large Orc man tending a forge.

Hold on, A FORGE. Blacksmith forges, for some odd reason, had always intrigued Valkyrie. Every time her family would take a trip outside Karthwasten, she would seek out the local blacksmith and just sit and watch while they worked. She found it fascinating to see raw bits of iron and steel go in, and come as a sword or a mace.

"Cool!" She said out loud

The Orc looked over at her, ready to chew someone out for interrupting his work, but when he saw it was a child, he decided to let it go.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." He responded

"What are you working on?"

"I'm the Jarl's personal blacksmith. Just finishing up a sword he asked me for."

The Orc reached into the forge, and pulled out a beautifully made steel sword. Valkyrie marveled at it.

"Wow. Can I touch it?"

"Probably not a good idea. It did just come out of a forge, after all."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm Valkyrie, by the way."

"Name's Moth. I'd shake your hand, but mine's a bit filthy."

Just then they heard a voice from behind. It was obviously female, but was low and gruff. Valkyrie guessed it must be another Orc. And she was right

"Did you say your name was Valkyrie? You're the one from the Karthwasten attack."

Valkyrie's expression saddened. "Yeah, that's me."

"I'm sorry child, I didn't mean to sadden you. My name is Ghorza. I'm Moth's sister."

"It's a pleasure" replied Valkyrie, as she shook Ghorza's hand.

The next little while was filled with conversation between Valkyrie and Ghorza. Valkyrie told her about the attack, her mother, and the vampires. Ghorza tried to lift her spirits by telling her own tales of how she had served in the Imperial Legion, and fought in the Great War against the Thalmor. Valkyrie hung on to every little detail of these exciting stories, before the question came up.

"So what's going to happen with me now? I've got no family, and I'm just a kid."

"Honestly, they're probably going to send you to Honorhall in Riften."

Honorhall? The orphanage with the cruel headmistress who tortured and beat the kids who lived there? She would rather Oblivion take her than go there!

"What? No, I can't go there! I came to Markarth so I could get work with the Silver-Bloods!" she exclaimed, remembering her father's plan

"The Silver-Bloods? Listen, honey, I don't know who told you about them, but you DON'T want to get mixed up with the Silver-Bloods. Besides, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have any use of a nine year old."

Valkyrie sighed with defeat. Ghorza was right. But anything could be better than Honorhall.

"I have an idea." Ghorza said suddenly.

Valkyrie looked up. "What is it?" she asked

"I know this is kind of wierd, considering we just met, but... um... you could stay with me and Moth of you wanted."

Valkyrie was taken aback, genuinely touched by Ghorza's offer.

"You want me... to stay with you?"

"Well... yes. You'd have a safe place to sleep at night, and I could, y'know, teach you how to smith..."

With the words "teach you how to smith," Valkyrie was sold.

"I would love to." 


	4. Chapter 3

"Where in Oblivion did you get these, Valkyrie?"

Ghorza had expected her new apprentice/adopted daughter to come back with a few simple ingots made of Dwarven Metal, but Valkyrie instead had come back with two armfuls of scrap metal that looked as though they had just come off a Steam Centurion.

"I poked around Nchuand-Zel a bit." Valkyrie answered, refering to the ancient Dwemer ruins underneath Markarth.

Valkyrie had been doing quite well for herself these last twelve years. Ghorza and Moth had adopted her, giving her a permanent home in Markarth. In addition, Ghorza had taken her on as an apprentice, since her previous assistant, Tacitus, had proven to be an incompetent bafoon. Not only that, she had convinced Calcelmo, the court wizard, to give her lessons in Restoration magic. Speaking of Calcelmo...

"I told you just to get a few ingots from Calcelmo!"

"He didn't have any to spare. What's the big deal? It's not like I was stealing."

"You could've gotten carved up by a Centurion!"

Valkyrie sighed. Her twenty-first birthday had been only a few weeks earlier, yet Ghorza still treated her like a child. It was like she was still living with Gronmir and Skjalund. She hated it. She wasn't the same terrified child she was when she first came to Markarth twelve years ago. In fact, Valkyrie was a completely different person. When she was sixteen, she had dyed her golden hair to jet black, apparently in an effort to take her mind off her family, or more specifically, the mother she never knew.

Valkyrie had also become deadly with a bow in her hands. What little free time she had between helping Ghorza run the forge and her lessons with Calcelmo was spent along the roads leading up to Markarth, hunting whatever hostile animals she happened to come across. Most times, it was wolves, which proved to be short work. Sometimes, though, she would be unlucky, and stumble across a sabre cat, or, if she was even more unlucky, a bear. However, Valkyrie was not hunting the animals for sport. It was for training.

One year after the attack at Karthwasten, Moth had taken Valkyrie on a trip to Solitude. Before they got there, however, they stopped in Dragon Bridge for a bite to eat. By this time, the moon had already risen, and Moth had considered just staying in Dragon Bridge for the night and heading to Solitude in the morning. When Valkyrie was about to go to bed, one of the guards bursted through the door of the inn, telling everyone to take cover.

"Vampires! They're making their way towards the town!"

No. Not again. Valkyrie began to panic, unable to calm herself until Moth got ahold of her and settled her down.

"Calm down, child. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Moth hid Valkyrie under the bed in one of the rooms, locked the door, and stood guard over her, mace in hand. Fortunately, this was not a repeat of the last vampire attack she had witnessed. The monsters left the room untouched, although they laid to waste to the rest of the town.

It had been silent outside for a good ten minutes...

"Ok. I think they're gone. You can come out now." said Moth

They took a look around the inn, some were dead, some were severely injured. Thankfully, Valkyrie had already started her lessons with Calcelmo at that point, so she knew a bit of basic Restoration, enough to ensure that who were still alive would remain that way. She was just finishing up on the last of the injured when she heard someone... crying.

It was coming from behind the desk. Valkyrie looked over and saw a small boy, about her age, kneeling over his dead mother, crying his eyes out, going through the same grief she had a year earlier. Valkyrie felt for this boy, and right then and there, she vowed that wherever she went, she would wreak her vengeance upon the children of the night.

"Look, Ghorza, I know you worry about me. But I'm a grown woman now. I can make my own decisions!" Valkyrie said, a bit upset that Ghorza was still being so overprotective.

"You might be of age, but you still have a lot of growing up to do!"

"So instead of letting me grow up, you want to shelter and protect me from every tiny little danger on Nirn?"

Ghorza didn't have an answer to that.

Another skill Valkyrie had honed to a razor sharp point, was her tongue. She could sell snow to the Jarl of Winterhold, or let a convicted mass murderer be released from prison if she wanted. The beggars of Markarth had taken to calling her the "Serpent Lady." Such a nickname didn't really bother her though. She had developed a bit of an ego as well, and she took it with pride simply because people knew who she was.

The rest of the day passed, Ghorza shut down the forge for the night and headed back to the keep. Valkyrie stopped by the inn to pick up dinner, a pound of cooked beef and Honningbrew Mead, and then followed. She didn't talk much for the rest of the evening. She just sat on the steps leading up to the Jarl's throne looking at her locket, with the picture of her family in it. After all... today was the anniversary. 


	5. Chapter 4

Valkyrie came back into her, Moth, and Ghorza's room, where her adoptive parents were already in bed.

Old farts. The sun's barely even down, Valkyrie thought to herself humorously.

She was trying to forget about that night, twelve years ago, with a bit of success. She decided she needed a bit more to put her mind at ease. She hopped on her bed and looked up the wall, where her life's greatest achievement at that point was hanging.

When she had turned eighteen, Moth and Ghorza reluctantly let Valkyrie begin working with metals more delicate and complicated that iron or steel, hence why Ghorza had wanted the Dwarven ingots that day. The moment they had said yes, she rushed down to Left Hand Mine, just outside the city, and spent the day digging ore. She had returned with a few pounds of moonstone, and, a credit to her nickname, she persuaded one of the Thalmor guards to teach her how to make Elven weapons.

Valkyrie slaved for the next week at the forge, working herself to the point of exhaustion. It was worth it in the end, as she wound up with a beautifully crafted Elven bow. Even Ondolemar, the asshole Thalmor commander, had been impressed with it.

She then looked over on her night stand, where another great acheivement, one she had finished that very day in fact, layed beside her.

Ghorza had long ago informed Valkyrie that she was a natural behind the forge. She could finish weapons in a week that would take most months to complete. So, small things like daggers normally only took her about a day to complete. This one she had constructed from the Dwarven scrap metal from Nchuand-Zel. It was sharp as a razor, and Valkyrie was sure it could sever an artery with little trouble. Now she just needed to find someone how to show her how to use it.

Valkyrie was just about to launch into her new book "The Real Barenziah," when she heard the door of the keep bust open, and a few guards rushing towards the Jarl.

Probably just a pickpocket, she thought to herself.

"Everyone, get the keep secured! The city is under attack!"

That got Valkyrie's attention fast. She hopped out of bed, and rushed over to the Mournful Thron, where Igmund, Raeorek, and Faleem, the housecarl, were standing at attention.

"Under attack? Is it the Forsworn? The Stormcloaks?" Igmund inquired, wondering what measures he would have to take.

"Worse, my Jarl. Vampires."

Vampires. Valkyrie didn't hesistate. She rushed back to her room, grabbed her bow and dagger, and a bushel of iron arrows that Moth had made the day before. Valkyrie knew iron arrows were crap, but there wasn't anything better to use. She bolted to the front gates and drew her bow, ready to put an arrow in the throat of any vampire who dared to come into the city.

The bloodsuckers marched throught the gate, and Valkyrie let an arrow fly into one's chest. It wasn't very effective, as the vampire grew enraged and made a beeline for her.

Shit, she thought as she drew another arrow.

This one landed in the monster's stomach, and it proved to be enough to put him down, but by now, there were at least ten vampires wreaking havoc on the central marketplace. How could she possibly put down all of them by herself?

Luckily, she wouldn't have to, as a band of city guards had arrived and begun to do battle with the vampires. She sheathed her bow onto its harness, wanting to conserve her arrows, and pulled her dagger. She ran up to one of the monsters, who was making short work of a guard, and stabbed him right in the back of the head, piercing through the vampire's skull, and going into his brain.

By the Gods. Valkyrie hadn't underestimated the effectiveness of this blade. Maybe she didn't even need training with it.

Her cockiness proved to be a detrement, as she was tackled by a beast that resembled a dog, but looked like something out of Oblivion. The beast's jaws snapped, and Valkyrie tried to push it off of her to no avail. The hound's mouth grew closer, until finally its teeth dug into Valkyrie's shoulder. The pain was immense, but even more so was the... cold. As soon as the beast had bitten her, Valkyrie had begun to feel as cold as the grave.

She made one last ditch effort, and managed to push the hound off of her, then proceeded to plunge her dagger into its eye. The eye exploded, spewing blood and tissue everywhere, and Valkyrie felt the urge to throw up. There was no time for that, though, as another vampire tackled her to the ground. She dropped her dagger, and her bow was unreachable from this position. The vampire pinned her arms down with his knees and began slugging her in the face

The first blow bloodied her nose, the second made her left eye begin to swell. The vampire hit her a few more times, and her vision started to blur.

This is it, she thought herself. Oh well. At least I tried.

But before the monster could take his final blow, an arrow lodged itself right in his jugular vein. Wait... no. It wasn't an arrow. It was... thicker.

Valkyrie sat up and looked around. The rest of the vampires were dead. How was that possible? They had been proving to be more than a match for the guards.

"Need some help?" said a voice from behind

Valkyrie was sure it was Moth, but she got up and... nope. It was a different Orc. An Orc who, apparently had taken out the rest of the vampires by himself.

"Stendarr's mercy. That fiend really did a number on you." said the Orc, examining Valkyrie's face.

"I'll be alright. I know some Restoration magic so I can fix myself up."

"Good. By the way, I'm Durak."

"Valkyrie."

The two shook hands, and stood in silence for a moment, before Durak spoke up again.

"I've gotta give you credit. Not everyone would have the guts to take on a band of vampires like that, despite being so... inexperienced."

Valkyrie took it as a compliment, and knew Durak spoke the truth. She didn't know a damn thing about fighting, other than how to hunt wolves and sabre cats.

"Thanks." she said, trying not to look ashamed.

"Listen, I see you've got a fire against these bloodsucking fiends. What would you say to joining the Dawnguard?"

"The what?" Valkyrie asked. She had never heard of this Dawnguard, but was already interested, if for no other reason than to repay Durak for saving her life.

"The Dawnguard. We're vampire hunters. We hunt these bloodsucking scum down wherever we can find them."

Vampire hunters? Valkyrie knew what this meant. It was time to fulfill her vow. Properly

"Where do I sign up?"

"Ha. Isran's gonna like you. We're holed up in the big fort southeast of Riften. I look forward to seeing you there." 


	6. Chapter 5

"You're joking, right?"

Ghorza was in shock. Valkyrie had dissapeared right before vampires had attacked the city, come back looking as though she had been mauled by a cave bear, and now was planning to leave Markarth and go join some band of vampire hunters?

"Please, tell me you're joking."

"No, Ghorza. I'm dead serious." Valkyrie replied, going over her face with a new Restoration spell she had learned from Calcelmo.

The golden ball of energy coming from her hand was fixing her battle wounds like... well, magic. The coagulated blood from her nose dissappeared, and the swelling in her eye was now nonexistent. She still ached, though. That was the one folly of Restoration magic. It took care of wounds just fine, but it couldn't do anything about pain.

"So you WANT to get killed by vampires? Is that what I'm hearing?"

"No! These Dawnguard people are going to teach me how to fight so I don't end up like this again."

"Have you been getting visits from Sheogorath?"

Valkyrie sighed. Ghorza just didn't understand. She owed these bloodsucking monsters a good bit of vengeance, which she fully intended to deliver, whether Ghorza approved or not.

Moth had been sitting idly in the corner, as he had learned was best to do when Valkyrie and Ghorza went at it like this. But enough was enough.

"Enough!" The big Orc exclaimed, getting out of his chair and in the middle of the two bickering women.

"Valkyrie. Ghorza's right. You going off to join this... Dawnguard would put your life at serious risk. And of course she's going to worry about you, she's looked after you as though you were her daughter for twelve years."

Valkyrie was in disbelief. Moth was actually agreeing with Ghorza? They never agreed on anything. She was beginning to think that she might have to just sneak out one night, without saying goodbye, and doing that would break all three of their hearts. But then Moth spoke up again.

"But at the same time, Ghorza, Valkyrie's not a little girl anymore. She's a grown woman and needs to make her own decisions."

Now Ghorza was shocked, more at the ignorance of her idiot brother than anything else.

"So you're condoning this?!" she yelled at him.

"Of course not. But if this is something she wants to do, she has the freedom to do it."

Valkyrie sat down on her bed and sighed. Well, at least one of them was sort of on her side. This was not going well. She understood how insane it sounded. Leaving her home, going out into the world to hunt ruthless creatures that could destroy lesser men as though they were mere training dummies? She had hoped here razor sharp tongue would come in handy here, but she was having no such luck. She didn't know if her skill was slipping, or if Ghorza was just proving to be more stubborn than usual.

"Fine! If she wants to go get killed by these monsters and throw away everything we've given her, then so be it!" Ghorza yelled as she stormed out of the room.

Valkyrie was shocked at Ghorza's choice of words, and genuinely hurt. This woman, who she thought of as a mother, was so protective of her that she was taking this as her being ungrateful?

"She... she didn't mean that, Valkyrie, I swear she didn't." Moth said after a few seconds of disbelief.

Valkyrie hung her head and started to cry softly. She hadn't thought leaving would be this hard, this upsetting. All she wanted was Ghorza to accept what she had to do, but it appeared that was asking too much. Moth sat down beside her and offered a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I know Ghorza, and she can't stay mad for long. She'll come around. I promise."

Valkyrie wiped away some of her tears, praying to the Divines that Moth was right.

"Listen, I've got something I want to give you."

Moth got up and walked over to his little workbench beside the forge. Valkyrie was genuinely intrigued by whatever it was. She had always been a sucker for gifts.

"What is it?"

"Consider it a going away present." Moth said as he retrieved a bushel full of freshly made Elven arrows.

"Arrows to match that bow you worked so hard on."

Valkyrie nearly squealed with excitement. Even though most of the Elves she knew were complete bastards, they sure knew how to make quality weapons. She walked over to Moth and gave him a huge, daughterly hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Moth. Not just for this, but for everything. I owe you and Ghorza so much..."

"It's what parents do."

Valkyrie made her way around the keep, saying her goodbyes to everyone and stocking up on supplies for the journey. It seemed everyone had a few gifts for her. Calcelmo left her with a few rare spell tomes he was sure would come in handy. Raeorek, who knew a bit of magic himself, put a fire enchantment on her dagger, as vampires were quite susceptible to it. Faleem gave her a few books regarding swordplay, saying that if she was going to be any good with that dagger, she would need them.

Now there was just one thing left to do.

"Ghorza?"

The Orc had retreated to just outside the city gates. She was sitting at the top of the steps, trying to set her mind at ease with a walk in the moonlight. It wasn't working.

"Still here? I thought you'd be halfway to Riften by now." she replied snidely.

"No. I'm heading out in the morning. I just wanted to say-"

"You don't need to say anything to me."

Valkyrie winced with discomfort. Ghorza really wasn't making this easy. But she had to say what she had to say.

"No, I do. Look, I know you don't want me to leave, and I get why. I've been like a daughter to you for twelve years, and you've been like a mother to me. Actually, no, there's no 'like' about it, you HAVE been my mother. But you have to understand, this isn't a choice for me. It's an obligation. It's something I have to do, and I know you think I'm crazy for it. But it doesn't matter. I love you, and I appreciate everything you and Moth have done for me. But it's time for me to find my own way now, and I'd really like your blessing before I go."

Silence. Valkyrie waited for a minute. More silence. A single tear started to roll down her face as she turned around to head back to the keep.

"I'm sorry, Valkyrie."

The Nord turned back around.

"It was cruel of me to say what I did. As difficult as it might be for me to accept it, you ARE a woman now, and it's time I cut you from my apron strings."

She stood up, and the two began to sob as they hugged each other tight.

"Promise me something, Valkyrie?"

"Anything."

"Don't you even think of letting one of those monsters take you down. If you die at the hands of a vampire, I'll never forgive myself."

"I promise. Those bloodsuckers will never know what hit them."

"Good. This Dawnguard had better be prepared for you." 


	7. Chapter 6A

"Wake up, lass. We should be arriving in Riften before too long."

Valkyrie awoke instantly, yanwing and forcing herself to sit upwards. She had hired Kibell, the carriage driver from Markarth, to take her to Riften. He had proved to be enjoyable company, always asking questions, pointing out interesting landmarks, and also telling her that she was touched in the head for wanting to join a group of vampire hunters. Valkyrie had merely laughed it off. She figured she might as well get used to that reaction from people.

The carriage drive had taken about a week, and Valkyrie was beginning to run low on the food she had brought from Markarth. Thankfully, they were almost in Riften. The sun had already gone down, though, so she opted to stay at the inn for the night, then head to Fort Dawnguard in the morning. Although, Kibell had one word of warning for her...

"Be wary around Riften, girl. It's no secret that the Thieves Guild makes its home here."

Valkyrie just smirked. She had survived nearly being beaten to death by a vampire, so a few cowards who didn't have the balls to go face to face with someone didn't worry her.

"I think I'll be fine, Kibell. But thanks."

"Promise me you'll be careful, ok? Riften is a whole different animal from Markarth."

"Yeah, yeah, I promise."

They had arrived. Valkyrie was about to stroll on in, when a guard stopped her.

"Halt!"

She stopped.

"Is there a problem, sir?"

"Yes, there is. I'vs never seen you before, so I can't allow you to enter the city until you've paid the visitor's tax."

Valkyrie showed a look of confusion. Kibell hadn't been lying when he said Riften was nothing like Markarth. Were the people here really so greedy and desperate that they charged people at the gates before letting them in?

"Visitor's tax? What the hell for?"

"For the privelege of entering the city. Fifty septims."

Fifty septims! That was all Valkyrie had on her, and she was NOT about to go hungry and have to sleep in the street with the beggars. Time to put that tongue to use.

"This is obviously a shakedown!" She shouted, loud enough for anyone nearby to hear.

"Alright, alright, calm down. You want the whole city to hear you? Just go in."

Valkyrie smiled as she stepped through the gates of Riften. Her smile quickly vanished when she got her first sight of the city. It was a run-down, unforgiving, miserable excuse of a city. People were irritable and greedy, guards couldn't care less when they broke into a fight, and... for some odd reason... Valkyrie felt as though she was being watched.

She spotted a sign on a building nearby that read "The Bee and Barb." It was the name of the inn in the city, as Kibell had told her a day before. She was just about to head inside when she felt a massive hand grab her arm and spin her around. She was greeted by the none-too-pleasant sight of an extremely pissed off Nord in steel armor, looking at her as though she were a skeever.

"I don't know you. You in Riften lookin' for trouble?" The Nord asked.

"No, I'm just passing through." Valkyrie responded, trying to jerk herself free of his grip, to no avail.

"Well, while you're here, you'd better stay out of the Black-Briars' business! Otherwise you'll be dealing with me!" The brute named Maul said before releasing her and walking off.

Charming, Valkyrie thought to herself. She had decided already that she hated Riften. And also, she thanked the Divines that she would only be spending a single night there. She walked into the inn, and her opinion of the city deteriorated even more. There was a mage mercenary who immediately started bothering her about hiring him. There was an old Nord man, at least in his mid-seventies, who was on a drunken rant about the Empire. And to top it all off, there was a priest of Mara who was less-than-politely informing the patrons that their actions were displeasing to the Goddess of Love. Valkyrie just ignored it all and sat down at the bar.

The woman behind the bar was an Argonian. Valkyrie had never seen an Argonian before, and was surprised at how they looked like lizards. But she figured she had better stop staring before the barkeep became impatient.

"Do you have any rooms available?" she asked politely.

"That we do. Ten septims." the Argonian named Keerava replied.

Valkyrie reached into her pocket, but immediately noticed something was wrong. Her money... it was gone? No! She knew full well she had fifty septims on her when she had come into the city. A panicked look came across her face, one that Keerava knew all too well.

"Ah, poor darling. It seems the Thieves Guild found their way into your pocket."

Valkyrie was enraged. Those damn thieves took every septim she had! She tried a last ditch effort with Keerava.

"I don't suppose you'd give a room and a meal out of the kindness of your heart?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

Gods damn it, Valkyrie thought to herself. They're going to pay for this. She knew she had to be careful, thought, as the Thieves Guild was full of dangerous people. But she wasn't about to let some lowlife take her money and get away with it.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the Thieves Guild hides out, would you?" she asked Keerava.

"Going to get your money back, are we? They hole up in the Ratway, the sewer beneath the city. Normally, I advise people to stay away from that place, but it's your funeral if you decide to go."

A few minutes later, Valkyrie was standing at the entrance to the Ratway, her bow unsheathed, knowing she was in for a fight. She creaked the door open silently, and the smell of the rotting sewer nearly made her puke. But she held her stomach and walked a bit before she heard two people talking.

"I don't know, Drahff. They'd skin us alive if they knew we were doin' this."

"Why are you always acting like such a big baby? I've gotten us this far."

The two bickered back and forth for a bit, before Valkyrie started walking towards them, at which point they noticed her and unsheathed their own weapons.

Valkyrie panicked. Without thinking, she sent an arrow flying into the smaller man's chest. He immediately fell over, so the arrow must have hit his heart. But now the bigger one was charging at her, mace in hand, and swung at her like a madman. It seemed this man didn't know how to swing a mace any more than she did, so she easily sidestepped him, and plunged her dagger into his neck.

Valkyrie calmed down from her panicked state, and began to take in what had just happened. She had just taken TWO lives. And they weren't even vampires. She kneeled down and silently asked her father and brother to forgive her. She had to do it, otherwise they would have killed her without a second thought.

Valkyrie eventually found her way to... a tavern? Who in their right minds would build a tavern down here in the sewers. She looked at the sign, which read "The Ragged Flagon." This was the place.

She walked over to the bar and took a seat, the barkeep paid her no mind.

"You wouldn't happen to know who's in charge around here, would you?" she asked casually.

"I do. But I'm afraid it's none of your damn business." The man spat at her.

Valkyrie was about to reach over and slap the man into next week, when she heard a calm voice coming from one of the tables behind her.

"Now, now, Vekel. Where's your manners?"

An older Breton man came and sat beside her.

"Delvin Mallory at your service." the man said calmly. Valkyrie could see he was trying way too hard to seduce her.

"Valkyrie."

"Now that's a lovely name. Tell me, what's a lovely young thing like yourself doing down here? You know the Ratway has a habit of... swallowing up the uninvited."

She knew he was subtly threatening her, but she kept calm.

"A simple reason. Someone in your little group picked my pocket and took every septim I had. I'm here to get my money back."

The entire room burst into laughter, except Valkyrie who was getting pissed off.

"I'm fucking serious." she said, trying to sound menacing

"Well, my girl, if you want to go around talking to big, menacing Nords at the gate and leave your coin purse unattended, that's your problem." Delvin said with a smirk.

"This one causing any problems, Delvin?"

Valkyrie spun around to see yet another big, pissed off Nord who was eyeing her like a mother bear did to someone who threatened her cub. At this point, Valkyrie had lost her patience.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember inviting you into this conversation. Piss off."

"Wrong answer, bitch." The big Nord said as he cracked his knuckles 


	8. Chapter 6B

"Now, now" Delvin piped up before the two got violent.

"It seems we are at an impasse here. You want your money back, and our friend Dirge here wants to tear your head off. I think I have an idea."

Valkyrie sighed. She knew where this was going.

"If you can beat him in a fist fight, I will give you back every septim I took."

Valkyrie wasn't looking forward to having this brute knock her around, but she didn't have much of a choice.

"Fine." she said.

"Alright, both of you hand over your weapons," a blonde woman piped up. She had appeared out of nowhere, but apparently had heard the whole exchange.

The man named Dirge complied as he handed her his iron war axe.

"Wait a minute, what?" Valkyrie piped up. She wasn't about to let this woman, who was obviously a thief, get her hands on her weapons.

"Are you stupid? That's how it works down here when people come to blows. No weapons. No magic."

"And how do I know you're not going to sell them while I'm busy kicking his ass?"

"She won't." Delvin piped up again. "Win or lose, your little toys will be waiting for you. You have my word."

Gods damn it, Valkyrie thought to herself. She didn't trust these lowlives any further than she could throw them, but there wasn't much of a choice right now.

"Fine."

She handed the woman named Vex her bow, her arrows, and her dagger. Valkyrie knew she had to be smart in this fight. It was obvious that this big lummox had her cornered in terms of brute strength. But she knew she was quicker than he was, so she would have to utilize that as much as possible.

The two stood in the center of the room and readied themselves. Valkyrie took a deep breath and raised her fists before saying "Let's do this..."

Dirge charged at her and swung with his right arm. She sidestepped him, before going directly behind to attempt to jump onto his back and choke him out. Instead, she was met with a swift backhand from his other arm. The blow made the whole side of her face sting as though she had been attacked by a horde of killer bees. She stumbled back a few feet, but quickly regained herself

Fuck, Valkyire thought. He's faster than I thought.

Dirge came at her again, this time opting for shorter, quicker strikes, which she bobbed and weaved between with little difficulty. She did this until she began to notice that he was breathing much more heavily, and his swings were getting slower.

Good, she thought, I'm starting to wear him down.

Valkyrie dodged one more swing, and finally retaliated with one of her own, slugging Dirge right in the nose. His head cocked back, but the blow hadn't even seemed to phase him, as he kept on swinging. She sidestepped a few more strikes, before she worked her way behind him to once attempt to choke the bastard. This time however, she was successful in getting onto him and wrapping her forearm around his neck. Valkyrie squeezed as though she were a snake, cutting off Dirge's air.

But Dirge wasn't about to go down like this. He began running backwards, eventually crushing Valkyrie between a stone wall and his own massive frame. The impact caused her to let go of him and fall to the floor, unable to breathe. This mattered little to Dirge, as he grabbed her by her hair, and literally THREW her back into the center of the room for more punishment. The throw had such momentum, that she was able to go into a roll and end up standing on her feet.

The lummox charged once more at Valkyrie, who was still trying to catch her breath. She jumped out of his way and stood on top of the bar, before launching herself at Dirge footfirst. Dirge turned around just in time to meet Valkyrie's foot slamming into his face at full force. He stumbled back, accidentally swallowing the teeth she had knocked out of his head. Valkyrie bent over, just now being able to breathe since Dirge had slammed her into the wall. It was because of this that she didn't see the brute regain his composure until he had his hands around her throat.

Dirge lifted Valkyrie into the air by her neck, then proceeded to slam her down onto the floor. But he wasn't done there. In the next few seconds, she found herself in the same position she had been in a week ago with the vampire. Only this time it was with a Nord who had arms the size of tree trunks. Dirge pinned her down and began pounding her in the face mercilessly. He hit her at least ten times, before deciding she could take no more.

He lifted himself off of Valkyrie with an evil smile on his face. He had won. Delvin made his way over to Valkyrie with a smug look himself.

"I hate to say I told you so, sweetie, but this is what happens when you cross the Guild." he said, reaching out his hand to help her up.

"Don't fucking touch me."

Delvin's eyes widened. It seemed this bloody mess of a girl still had some fight in her. Valkyrie forced her way onto her feet, still aching like a drunk horker, before shouting...

"I'm not done with you yet, you son of a bitch!"

Dirge looked over with the biggest frown on his face. It appeared this bitch didn't know when to quit. But this time Valkyrie was not fucking around. Enraged, she gave him a "bring it on" gesture as he charged at her once again. He swung mid-charge, and Valkyrie grabbed his wrist, using the brute's own momentum against him. She ended up throwing him onto a nearby table, which collapsed on impact. She then leaped into the air as high as her legs would allow her, and stomped both her feet into Dirge's most intimate regions.

This made him yelp in pain, but Valkyrie wasn't done yet. She leapt into the air once more, and this time her feet found their way onto Dirge's face.

"Stop! No more, I yield!"

With those words, Valkyrie was satisfied. She walked over to Delvin and held out her hand, not for a handshake, but for her coin purse.

"You, my lady, are quite spirited." Delvin said, admiring the bloodied, bruised woman who stood in front of him.

"Don't try and flatter me." Valkyrie had just beaten the hell out of a man twice her size, and she was in no mood to joke around.

"Of course. Listen, before you go on your way. I have something to ask you. Our organization has been a bit... unlucky lately. We need someone like you, who will keep fighting even when her back is against the wall. What would you say to joining the Thieves Guild?"

"Give me my fucking money."

Delvin had his answer. He handed over the coin purse, as well as her bow, her arrows, and her dagger. Valkyrie stormed out of the tavern, flipping them all off as she exited.

A SHORT TIME LATER...

"By the Eight! Did you actually go down there?"

Valkyrie smiled. She could've easily fixed herself up with a bit of Restoration, but instead had chosen to wear her battle scars with pride. These people needed to know she wasn't to be fucked with.

"Is that room still available?" 


	9. Chapter 7

So this was Fort Dawnguard. It was bigger than Valkyrie had expected, although it looked as though it was falling apart. She found herself wondering why anyone other than vampires, or even bandits, would want to make a crumbling ruin their home.

Beggars can't be choosers I guess, she thought to herself as she kept walking the road up to the fort.

"Hey there! You here to join the Dawnguard too?"

Valkyrie turned around to see a friendly looking, young whelp of a Nord, hardly old enough to grow his first chin hairs. She wasn't very impressed by this runt, but then who was she to talk? She might as well humor the boy.

"That I am. I'm Valkyrie. And you?"

"Amgaer. It's a pleasure." He responded as the two shook hands.

"You don't mind if I walk up to the fort with you, do you?"

"Of course not."

The next few minutes were filled with one of the most boring conversations Valkyrie had ever heard in her life. First they exchanged their "Why Did You Decide To Join The Dawnguard" stories. Amgaer apparently witnessed a vampire attack in his village. He felt he had two choices, live in fear his entire life, or get off his ass and do something about it. She respected that, but then the boy just wouldn't shut up.

"Don't tell Isran I was afraid to meet him by myself, ok?"

"I bet you've killed lots of vampires, huh? I bet Isran will sign you right up."

"Where is everybody? The fort looks almost abandoned."

The last statement struck her as true, because they were almost to the front door, and they still hadn't seen anyone. Valkyrie began to wonder if she had made a mistake by coming here. She thought she'd find people training out in the yard, archers on the walls, and at least a gate, but nothing. She was considering just turning around and heading back, when she heard a familiar voice call out to her...

"Valkyrie! Good to see you made it up here!"

She turned around and smiled

"Durak! Nice to see you again!"

She noticed he had a strange weapon with him. It was full of those thick looking arrows he had used to kill the vampire in Markarth. It was like a bow, but more... futuristic.

"Hey, what's that weapon you've got?"

"Never seen a crossbow before? Not surprising. It's kind of a Dawnguard specialty."

"It looks awesome."

"That's because it is. It's good for taking out vampires before they get close. Here, I've got a spare. If you really want to be a vampire hunter, you're gonna need to learn to use this."

Then Amgaer piped up, "Umm... you don't happen to have another one of those, do you?"

" 'Fraid not. But there are plenty around the fort. Get one and get familiar with it."

Valkyrie held the contraption in her hands, feeling invincible. The arrows, or bolts, as she learned they were called, were much more damaging than regular arrows. However, this crossbow was slower to reload, which could make for problems.

Gotta take the good with the bad I guess, Valkyrie thought to herself.

Here it was. The moment of truth. Valkyrie stepped through the doors of Fort Dawnguard, her heart racing. It was then that she began to doubt herself. What if Isran didn't accept her? What if he thought she had no business as a vampire hunter? She quickly tried to drown out these thoughts, but they were still in the back of her mind.

The main hall of Fort Dawnguard was a huge, circular room with a hole in the ceiling. Valkyrie was looking up, wondering why on Nirn the hole was there, when she was nearly blinded by sunlight. Apparently, there was a contraption at the top which allowed amplified sunlight in the room through the hole.

"What's going on?" Valkyrie asked, covering her eyes.

"Making sure you're not a vampire. You can never be too careful." said a voice from above.

The light receded, and she saw an older Redguard man standing on the balcony above her. There was no mistaking him, that was Isran. He was bald, but had a long beard that would make most Nord men jealous.

"So, why are you here?" he asked her.

"I'm here to join the Dawnguard." she replied, trying to sound tough.

"Got a fire in your belly to kill vampires, eh? Good. I'll be right down."

Isran came down the stairs from the balcony into the main hall. Up close, he was the most intimidating man Valkyrie had ever seen. She had better choose her words carefully.

"I'm glad word is finally starting the get around that I've brought back the order, even if it means that the vampires will take notice before too long. But there really isn't a Dawnguard to join yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Look around you, girl. The fort is falling apart. There are maybe two people here besides myself, and we are severely lacking in supplies and materials."

"Well, I want to help however I can."

Isran seemed impressed with Valkyrie's answer, although he tried not to show it.

"What's your weapon of choice?" He asked sternly.

"Normally I use a bow," she replied, pulling out the one she had taken with her from Markarth. "But I also have a nice little dagger just in case my enemy manages to get close."

"An archer, eh? Well, you should have an easier time adjusting to the crossbow than most. By the way, that bow is an Elven make, is it not?"

"That it is." she said, trying not to act proud of her bow.

"Where did you get it?"

"I forged it myself."

"So you have some experience as a smith, too? Good. We can definitely put you to use here until we're ready to go out into the field."

"Thank you, Isran."

"Now then, YOU! BOY! Stop lurking in the shadows and step forward!"

Valkyrie walked off and laughed silently to herself.

Divines have mercy on Amgaer, she thought to herself.

She took a walk around the fort to get aquainted with the space. If this was going to be her new home, she needed to know her way around it. She found the cots. The training room. The kitchen. She ran into Durak once more in the armory, and he proceeded to get her fitted for her new Dawnguard armor. This was it. There was no turning back now. Valkyrie's life in the Dawnguard had begun.

That night, however, she began to think back. To that night twelve years ago. To her father, her brother. Even to herself, screaming in terror helplessly as the vampire who killed Gronmir threatened to snap her neck. Valkyrie realized how lucky she was the she was still alive after that. She was sure Gronmir and Skjalund, and even her mother, were all watching her from Sovngarde, proud as they could be. 


	10. Chapter 8A

Three months passed. Valkyrie's days were a blur of training with Durak, repairing the fort with Isran, and going on trips to surrounding cities and villages for supplies. The group's numbers had shot up teremendously. Every day it seemed more hopeful vampire hunters were coming to join the Dawnguard, although few of them actually made it in.

There was Florentius Baenus, a former priest of Arkay who seemed a bit... off. He claimed to have a direct line of communaction with the God of Mortality, and everyone thought him crazy for it, but he was almost an expert alchemist, so they let it be. There was also Beleval, a young Wood Elf girl who everyone, including Valkyrie, seemed to give the cold shoulder. There was just something about her that made her... unpleasant.

The two new members who Valkyrie spent the most of her free time with were Sorine Jurard, a Breton woman who a master archer, and Gunmar, a fellow Nord who was such an excellent smith, he made Moth and Ghorza look like Tacitus.

Valkyrie worked hard, trained hard, and honed her skills to a razor sharp point in a short amount of time. Even Isran let it be known that he was impressed with how quickly she had gone from being just another loudmouth, to having the skills to back it up. She took it as a compliment.

One morning, Valkyrie walked into the main hall, where she noticed Isran in the main hall yelling at a man. She dismissed it as another new recruit who had decided to get smart with him, but she began to eavesdrop a bit.

"Why are you here, Tolund? The Vigilants and I were finished with each other a long time ago."

Was he talking about the Vigilants of Stendarr? Valkyrie knew that they were a group who mostly hunted down Daedra worshippers, but were known to fight against vampires and werewolves occasionally. This was interesting...

"Isran, please. We need your help. I need your help."

"Hah! I remember Carcette telling me that Fort Dawnguard was a crumbling ruin, not worthy of the expense or manpower needed to repair it. And maybe it was, but now myself and my order have rebuilt it. And you want to just come running to safety with the Dawnguard as though nothing happened?"

"Isran... Carcette is dead. The Hall, the Vilgilants... they're all dead."

Isran seemed to be taken aback by this, as he remained silent for a few moments before speaking up again.

"I never wanted any of this to happen. I tried to warn all of you. I'm... sorry." Isran said with a clap on the shoulder.

"I'm going to look around for one of my agents to send down there. Her name is Valkyrie, and I'm sure she'll be able to find out what those fiends were after."

Valkyrie stepped forward so they could see her

"No need to search, I'm here."

"Ah, good. I assume you heard a bit of that conversation?"

"I did. Where am I going and what am I looking for?"

Isran looked back at Tolund, motioning for him to explain the details to Valkyrie. The Vigilant turned to her, and Valkyrie could see the pain in his eyes. He had seen his comerades, maybe even family, cut down by vampires, a feeling Valkyrie knew all too well. She empathized with him, and at the same time, couldn't wait to spill some tainted blood.

"The last I heard, the vampires were digging around Dimhollow Crypt, and old ruin near Dawnstar, before they attacked the Hall. Brother Agalvald was sure it held some ancient vampire artifact or something."

"That's good enough for me. Valkyrie, get down there and see what you can find out."

"Will do, Isran." Valkyrie replied.

This was it. She was finally going out into the field to hunt those bloodsucking bastards. A sense of accomplishment and fulfillment washed over Valkyrie. She would be avenging her fallen family, as well as the comrades of any who had fallen victim to these monsters. Tolund spoke again...

"I'll meet you at Dimhollow. I owe these bastards some payback."

"Tolund, I don't think that's a good idea. You Vigilants were nev-"

"I know what you think of us!" Tolund cut Isran off. He would have no more of the man's degrading. "You think we're soft, that we're cowards! You think our deaths proved our weakness! Stendarr grant you don't have to face the same test!" He turned to Valkyrie.

"I'll meet you at Dimhollow."

She nodded in agreement, and went off to round up some supplies...

TWO DAYS LATER...

"Where the fuck is he?"

Valkyrie had been waiting outside this blasted cave for hours. Tolund had said he would meet her at the crypt, but she had seen no sign of him. If he didn't show up in the next few minutes, she was going in alone. She sat down in the snow, and decided to take a quick power nap. She hadn't had much sleep since leaving Fort Dawnguard, and decided not to stay at the inn in Dawnstar because of the rumors of nightmares.

Valkyrie awoke a short time later, with still no sign of Tolund.

Dammit, she thought. Looks like I'm on my own.

She entered the cave, moving silently as Durak had taught her, keeping her crossbow in hand in case a vampire decided to jump out from the shadows. The cave appeared to be leading somewhere, and soon Valkyrie found her self in a huge cavern, which directly across from her, there were the doors to an ancient Nordic burial crypt. Valkyrie's father had always warned her to stay away from places like this, and now she understood why. 


	11. Chapter 8B

Valkyrie nearly jumped when she heard a voice from near the doors.

"These Vigilants just never know when to give up, do they?"

Valkyrie listened closer...

"To come in here alone. Such a fool."

"He fought well, though. Jedon and Bersof were no match for him."

"Those two deserved what they got. Their arrogance had become insufferable."

Valkyrie was beginning to get worried. She had a feeling they were talking about Tolund. Isran must have been right. Tolund shouldn't have come, or at least waited unti, Valkyrie had gotten there.

"What's taking Lokil so long? I have half a mind to return to the castle and tell Harkon what a fool he's entrusted this mission to."

"And I have half a mind to tell Lokil of your disloyalty."

"You wouldn't dare. Now shut up and keep watch."

"You know, I'm getting rather thirsty. Perhaps another Vigilant will wander in soon."

Not a Vigilant this time, you monsters, Valkyrie thought to herself. This time you'll be dealing with a trained vampire hunter. She stayed in position and raised her crossbow. There were three targets, one vampire standing near the doors to the cairn, and one a bit farther back standing near a pillar. There was also one of thkse evil-looking dogs she had encountered in Markarth, which she had learned were called Death Hounds. A fitting name, she thought.

Valkyrie took in a deep breath, and let a bolt fly from her crossbow. The bolt soared across the room, and hit the Death Hound right between the eyes. She smiled. One down, two to go. But now the two vampires were alerted, their weapons raised and their vampiric magic readied. Valkyrie reloaded another bolt, frustrated that it was taking so long. By the time she was done, the vampires were almost close enough to spot her.

She let another bolt fly, and this one proved to have much more force behind it than the last. The bolt shot its way clean through the front vampire's throat, and lodged itself in the other's chest, piercing his heart. The monsters were dead before they knew what was happening.

Valkyrie exhaled heavily. That was one problem taken care of. She walked down towards the doors to the crypt, where she spotted Tolund's corpse, his clothes splattered with blood, and two other dead vampires near him. Valkyrie kneeled down to him...

"May your soul find rest in Sovngarde."

She went through the doors, still moving as silently as possible, when she noticed this wasn't an ordinary burial cairn. There was statuary here that was clearly not Nordic. She had to be careful. One false move and the beasts would slaughter her. Valkyrie moved through the crypt, taking down any vampires or hounds she came across with relative ease. She began to get cocky again, and began thinking that she was a natural born vampire hunter. But she was about to pay for it.

Out of nowhere, she felt a dagger plunge into her leg. Valkyrie shrieked in pain as she fell to the ground. The vampire climbed on top of her, ready to finish the deed. He yanked the dagger out violently, and thrust it down at Valkyrie's throat. She caught his hand mid-thrust and tried to push the monster off of her, but his vampiric blood allowed him to overpower her quite easily. The dagger was getting closer and closer, when in a split second, Valkyrie reached down to grab her own dagger and thrust in into the bloodsucker's heart, killing him.

Valkyrie healed her leg with a bit of Restoration, then forced herself to her feet. That had been far too close for her liking. She had to stay level-headed down here or she wouldn't get out alive. She headed through another set of doors that had the non-Nordic statuary, which led her to a balcony. She looked down, taking care to not let herself be seen. Two vampires were there, standing above a bloodied man who looked as though his legs had been broken. He could've healed himself, but his hands were tied. The man spoke...

"I'll never tell you anything vampire! My oath to Stendarr is stronger than any suffering you can inflict on me!"

"I believe you, Vigilant." the taller vampire answered deviously. "And I don't think you even know what you've found here." The vampire then told the Vigilant to gl and meet his beloved Stendarr before decapitating him with his blade.

"Are you sure that was wise, Lokil? He still might have told us something." The other vampire spoke up

"He had served his purpose. Now it's up to us to bring Harkon the prize. Vingalmo and Orthjolf will make way for me after this..."

Valkyrie had heard enough. She readied her crossbow, and fired a bolt into the back of Lokil's head. He fell, dead before he knew she was there. The other vampire readied herself and began running up the stairs towards the balcony, when Valkyrie shot another bolt and hit her between the eyes. Now then, it was time to find out what they were up to.

She made her way to the center of the room, where there was a simple pedestal. It looked as though there was a button on top of it, so Valkyrie pressed her hand down, only to have a blade shoot up and rip its way clean through her hand.

Valkyrie fell down and screamed in pain. She couldn't bear to take her other hand away from the wound, but at the same time knew that if she didn't, she could possibly bleed out. So she forced herself to part them and cast a new Restoration spell she had recently learned. This wound was far greater than aything she had ever been exposed to, so it took a few minutes to heal. She didn't much enjoy the sight of bone, tendons, muscle, and flesh knitting themselves back together, but this new spell apparently helped to deal with pain, too. It was worth it.

Valkyrie got up, and she noticed the pedestal had raised, and there was now a great stone monolith before her. She was about to investigate, when the monolith opened on its own. Inside, there was... a woman? How on Nirn could a person have survived being trapped in here for Gods know how long? The woman, stil, unconcious, fell to the floor, and Valkyrie kneeled down to help her.

"Unnhh..." The woman seemed to be waking up.

"Are you alright?" Valkyrie asked.

The woman got to her feet, put a hand on her forehead, obscuring her eyes, most likely because of a headache.

"What is... who sent you here?" The woman asked

"I was sent here by a group called the Dawnguard. Why? Were you expecting someone else?"

"Never heard of them. And I was sort of expecting someone... like me."

Like her? What did she mean? It was then that the woman took her hand off of her head, and Valkyrie saw her eyes. They were a bright orange, and it felt as though Oblivion were staring her in the face.

"Are you a..."

"Vampire, yes." 


	12. Chapter 8C

Valkyrie reached for her dagger.

"What are you doing?" The vampire asked.

"What I've been trained to do. The Dawnguard are vampire hunters." Valkyrie spat back at her.

"Should've figured."

Valkyrie lunged at the bloodsucker, dagger in hand, but was easily out-manuevered. The vampire got behind her, and Valkyrie turned around just in time for the monster's fist to slam into her jaw, knocking her to the ground. The vampire climbed on top of her, and pinned her arms to the ground. Valkyrie squirmed and thrashed, trying to get free, to no avail. She was sure this vampire was about to make her into a snack.

"Will you calm down and listen to me for a second?"

Or maybe not. Whoever this vampire was, she didn't seem to be a mindless beast like most of the other ones Valkyrie had encountered. She stopped resisting and nodded. The vampire responded by getting off of her and helping her up.

"Now listen, as much as I'd like to have a lovely little battle to the death with you down here, there are bigger things going on here than just a bunch of vampires in a cave."

"Like what?" Valkyrie demanded.

"Well... it's... it's complicated. If you really want to know the whole story, I need you to help me get back home. I'm sure my family could tell you the story better than I could."

Valkyrie wrestled with the decision. She was a vampire hunter, that much was certain. And right in front of her was a vampire, the kind of monster she had sworn to fight against without hesitation. And yet... She somehow knew this vampire was telling the truth. That bigger things were going on that she needed to be alive for.

"Fine. Just don't get in my way." She said at last.

"I could say the same to you." The vampire retorted.

"By the way, my name is Serana." She said, reaching out her hand for a shake

"Valkyrie." she replied, not returning the gesture.

A short time later, the two had come back out of the crypt, into the open air. Serana took a deep breath, and put on a hood.

"It's so good to be able to breathe again." she said.

"So where is your home anyway?"

"It's on an island northwest of Solitude."

The two set off for the island, keeping an eye on each other at all times, always expecting the other to hit them with a sneak attack but it never happened. Here in the light, Valkyrie got a good look at Serana. Most of the vampires she had come into contact with had been ugly as Oblivion, and the personality to match. But Serana... as much as Valkyrie hated to admit it, she was beautiful. She was also a jokester, making funny comments every few minutes.

You know, Valkyrie thought, for a vampire, she's not so bad. She then realized...

What am I thinking? Her kind killed my family! I can't trust her!

They had been walking for several hours in silence before Valkyrie decided to start up a conversation.

"So, how long were you locked away in there?"

"I don't know. It feels like it was a long time."

Valkyrie herself wondered how long, too, as she had learned that vampires gained power with age, so if this one decided to sink her fangs into her neck, she could be in trouble.

"Who is Skyrim's High King?" Serana asked.

Valkyrie chuckled. "That's actually a matter for debate."

"A war of succession, huh? Good to know the world didn't get boring. Who are the contenders?"

Valkyrie hadn't thought much of the civil war in Skyrim. She had grown up in The Reach, and she knew Jarl Igmund supported the Empire, but she herself thought the war was a bit pointless.

"Well, on one side you have Ulfric Stormcloak, Jarl of Windhelm. He leads his followers, who call themselves Stormcloaks. And then there's Jarl Elisif of Solitude, who's backed by the Empire."

Serana stopped.

"Empire? What empire?"

Valkyrie gave her a confused look. How could she not know about the Empire?

"The... the Empire. From Cyrodiil?"

"Cyrodiil is the seat of an empire? By the Gods, I must have been gone longer than I thought. Definitely longer than we planned."

"Than who planned?"

"I'm sorry, I can't say. It's just... I'm not sure I can trust you yet."

"I could say the same to you, bloodsucker." Valkyrie retorted.

This marked the end of their conversation, for now anyway. They had been walking for at least a day now, and Valkyrie was exhausted. But she didn't dare stop to sleep, as she was wary that Serana would feed on her, or worse, try and turn her. She had been giving Serana a basic rundown of what had happened in Tamriel since she had been locked away, the explosion of Red Mountain, the Oblivion Crisis, the Great War thirty years hence. They had arrived on the northern coast of Haafingar, when Serana pointed out a boat.

"Here it is. This is the boat we used to take to get back and forth between the island."

Valkyrie looked across the water. There was thick fog in the air, so she only saw a shadow of it, but she could see the island across was home to a massive castle that made even Fort Dawnguard look like a small hut.

"There it is, just like I said." Serana said.

Without thinking, Valkyrie blurted out, "I still don't trust you."

"Why not?" Serana asked, before saying sarcastically, "Is it because I almost broke your jaw back at Dimhollow? Because that was self-defense, my friend."

"We are not friends." Valkyrie replied. This vampire wasn't about to trick her. "Besides, you had me pinned down, looking like you were about to stick your teeth in my neck."

"Judging by the look in your eyes, I think you liked it when I was on top of you."

Valkyrie's face turned a bright pink, and she tried to hide her embarassment from Serana, who just laughed. It was time to end this.

"Look, Serana. I'll admit, I do enjoy your company. But make no mistake about it. I'm a vampire hunter. It's what I've been trained to do, so it's in my nature not to trust you."

Serana just sighed as she hopped into the boat. Valkyrie followed suit, and they rode the boat to the island. A short time later, they had docked on the shore of the island, and it was just now that Valkyrie was able to take in the sheer size of the castle.

"By the Gods, your castle is quite impressive."

"It's something, alright." was Serana's only reply.

It was just now that Valkyrie noticed Serana had something on her back. It looked like a scroll, but it was... different. This particular scroll seemed to radiate with energy. Valkyrie had only heard of one legend that matched what she was looking at.

"Is that... an Elder Scroll?"

Serana looked back at Valkyrie. "Yes. And it's mine."

"Why do you have an Elder Scroll?"

"Sorry, but I still don't trust you." Serana sneered.

Valkyrie should've seen that one coming. But now it was time to get Serana inside, and then get the hell off this island. Just being in the shadow of this castle gave Valkyrie the creeps. She was about to cross the bridge leading to the front gate, when Serana spoke up again.

"Hey listen..."

"Yeah?" was Valkyrie's only responsd

"I just wanted to say that... regardless of these trust issues you seem to have, I'm very appreciative of what you've done for me. But, once we get inside, you're gonna need to let me take the lead, otherwise you'll never make it out alive."

Valkyrie couldn't argue with that. She nodded in agreement, and followed Serana inside, although she wasn't ready for what she would find within. 


	13. Chapter 9

"How dare you tresspass here!"

The first sound Valkyrie heard as she entered the castle was not a pleasant one. She looked to see where it had come from, and saw a High Elf vampire who clearly was close to gutting her. He was abnormally tall, even by Altmer standards, and his long grey hair was tied in a knot down his back. Valkyrie saw him reach down for his weapon, but then he stopped, and his eyes widened.

"Serana? Is that you?"

"In the flesh, Vingalmo."

Valkyrie looked over at Serana and smirked. It seems she now had some competition for "Biggest Mouth In All Of Tamriel."

The vampire named Vingalmo made his way into the main hall, and shouted...

"My lord! Everyone! Serana has returned!"

Serana rolled her eyes.

"Were you expected or something?" Valkyrie asked sarcastically.

"Very funny. Just keep your mouth shut. Nobody here has much of a sense of humor."

Valkyrie laughed to herself, gesturing Serana to, as she had put it, take the lead. Serana flipped Valkyrie off while giving the kindest, sweetest looking smile she had ever seen. It was almost impossible for the two to contain their laughter, but they managed it as Serana began walking down the steps to the main hall.

"Ah, my long lost daughter returns at last..."

Valkyrie came to a dead halt. She couldn't possibly forget that voice if she had tried. Images from that night twelve years ago flooded her mind. She saw her father's head being torn off, her brother's neck being severed, and the vampire holding her against a wall and threatening to snap her neck. But no... this couldn't possibly be the same one.

"Are you coming?"

Serana's voice brought Valkyrie back to the present, as she shook her head and snapped herself out of it.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Now then, Serana. I trust you have my Elder Scroll?"

"I've been gone for Gods know how long, and that's the first thing you ask me? Yes, I have it."

Valkyrie got a look at who was speaking. There was no mistaking it now. This was the vampire that had killed her family. He still had that calm demeanor about him, and was every bit as terrifying as he had been at Karthwasten. A number of emotions flooded Valkyrie's mind. Fear and horror were amongst the most prevalent, but they were quickly replaced by rage and hatred. This bastard was going to pay, but not before Valkyrie got his name.

"Of course I'm delighted to see you, my daughter. Must I really say it out loud?"

So Serana was this monster's daughter. Valkyrie knew she had a good reason not to trust her. She looked over at Serana while keeping a blank face. Serana seemed to be quite annoyed with her father, but Valkyrie was sure she was just putting on a show.

"If only your mother were here, Serana. I would let her watch this heartwarming reunion before tearing her head off with my bare hands."

Just like you did to my father, you bastard, Valkyrie thought to herself.

"Now then, who is this... stranger... you have brought to our hall?"

Valkyrie was about to tell this vampire exactly who she was, and what she planned on doing to him, but Serana spoke up first.

"This is my savior. She freed me."

The vampire turned to Valkyrie.

"For my daughter's safe return, you have my gratitude, mortal."

He took a closer look at her, at which point Valkyrie was silently wishing he would remember her, so she could remind him by plunging her dagger into his face. But then she looked around. There were at least twenty vampires in this room alone. And she had already seen from Serana that they were not normal vampires, either. If she were to attack this vampire now, there wouldn't be anything left of her to bury.

"Tell me, what is your name?"

"My name is Valkyrie. And you?"

"I am Harkon. Lord of this court."

Harkon... Harkon... Valkyrie swore she had heard Isran or one of the Dawnguard's historians mention this name a time or two, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"By now, I assume you know what we are..."

"You're vampires. I know."

"Ah, not just vampires. We are among the oldest and most powerful vampires in Skyrim."

Valkyrie began piecing it together. Harkon, lord of a band of powerful, ancient vampires who lived in a gigantic castle? Then it hit her.

"The Volkihar clan..."

"So you know of us, then."

There were a few moments of silence. Valkyrie looked around, and saw that every single person in the room had their eyes on her. She wanted more than anything to get off this blasted island and go back to Fort Dawnguard, bit she had a feeling this monster wanted somethinf from her.

"So... what happenes now?"

"You have done me a great service, and now you must be rewarded."

Valkyrie didn't like where this was going.

"There is only one gift I can give that is equal in value to the Elder Scroll and my daughter. I offer you my blood, mortal. Take it, and you will walk as a lion among sheep. Men will tremble at your approach, and you will never fear death again..."

Valkyrie held in her rage. The audacity of this monster! It was one thing that he didn't even remember Valkyrie or the Karthwasten, but now he was actually thinking that she would actually become one of them? One of the very things she had sworn to fight?

"And if I refuse?" she said flatly.

"Then you will be prey. I will spare your life this once, but you will be banished from this hall."

As if Valkyrie needed another second to decide. She was just about to tell to Harkon to shove his offer down into the steaming nether-reaches of her you-know-where, when he spoke once more.

"Perhaps you still need convincing, then?"

Before Valkyrie's eyes, Harkon shifted forms. He went from being a typical looking human, minus the eyes, to being a seven foot tall, grey skinned beast with giant wings spurting from his back.

"This is the power that I offer!" Harkon shouted. "Make. Your. Choice."

Valkyrie was geniunely frightened of the sight before her. She had never known vampires to be able to transform like werewolves did. She took in the sight, before snapping herself back to reality.

"No." was her only response.

"So be it." Harkon said, visibly disappointed.

"You are prey, like all mortals. I hereby banish you from this hall!" Harkon pointed a single finger towards the door.

Valkyrie didn't need to think twice before getting out of there as fast as she could. Before she exited the door, she took one last look back at Serana, who seemed saddened to see Valkyrie leave. But there were other things to worry about right now.

Valkyrie exited the castle, and as soon as the vampires could no longer see her, she bolted to the edge of the island, hopped into the boat and rowed for her life.

That was way too fucking close, she thought to herself. I was sure they were all going to make me part of their buffet.

Valkyrie got back to the coast twenty minutes later, and the entire way over, she had been thinking about Serana. There was something... different about her. Something that had set her apart from the other vampires. Valkyrie just couldn't put her finger on it. Then again, she was sure Serana had just been trying to soften her up so it would make her an easier meal. Valkyrie couldn't think ablut this right now. After all, she had alot of explaining to do to Isran once she got back to the fort...

ONE WEEK LATER...

"So you're telling me that the Gods-damned Volkihar clan has an Elder Scroll, and you didn't secure it?!" Isran screamed. He was furious that one of his most promising agents had blundered something like this up so badly.

"Even if I had tried to, it would've ended up getting me killed!" Valkyrie argued back.

"Look, Isran. I'm going to find out what they want with the Scroll. It'll probably take some time, but whatever it is they're up to, we're going to put a stop to it."

"You had better hope so..." Isran said angrily 


	14. Chapter 10

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd just like to extend a thank you to one TaylorLoe for all the lovely reviews. I kind of needed that after writing five chapters in a single day. Well, technically, it was three, since the eighth was split into three parts, but still. By the way, this might seem a bit pushy, but if you guys who follow this story could spread it around a bit, I'd be very appreciative. After all, more views means more reviews, and that's how us FanFiction writers survive. Thanks, and by the way, you're all sexy as hell ;)

The next six months passed in the blink of an eye. The Dawnguard was growing, and as such, so was the threat of vampires. By now the Dawnguard had scouts in every settlement throughout Skyrim, so as to keep a watch for any signs of vampire activity. Valkyrie was much busier than the rest of her associates, however. Isran was beginning to hand out field assignments to his agents. Most of them were simple. Travel to a known vampire hideout and flush the monsters out. Others were a bit more... complicated.

Valkyrie found herself much busier than her fellow hunters, however. Because of her "failure" to capture the Elder Scroll back at Castle Volkihar, Isran not only gave her the same amount of regular assignments the others were getting, but he had also tasked her with researching, and finding out what use a bunch of vampires could possibly have for an Elder Scroll. She was getting very little sleep, and working herself to the point of exhaustion. But she didn't dare doze off, lest Isran catch her.

Valkyrie also constantly had the thought of Serana in the back of her mind. Yes, she was a vampire. And yes, Valkyrie didn't trust her at all. But she still could've used the companionship. After the Volkihar incident, everyone had begun to talk. Before the field assignments had started, Valkyrie had seemed to be the top dog in the Dawnguard, under Durak and Isran. Now, it seemed even Amgaer, the whelp she had met on the way to the fort, seemed to be having better luck than her. She knew it wasn't a competition, but it still wounded her pride severely, and she was extremely lonely.

One particular day, Valkyrie was returning from a field assignment. A typical, flush-out-a-cave kind of mission, she had begun to thank the Divines for almost being killed at Dimhollow. Ever since that day, none of the other vampires she had gone up against had been a challenge. These field assignments had become quite boring as a result, however.

Valkyrie entered the fort, and was greeted by the all too familiar feeling of blinding sunlight, of Isran making sure she wasn't a vampire.

"Ah! My skin! It burns!" Valkyrie said in a low, monotone voice, making it clear she was being sarcastic.

"Well, I'm glad you still have your annoying sense of humor. I think it rubbed off on someone else." Isran said from above.

Valkyrie was confused as to what he had meant by that. It was obviously this was still the same serious, no-nonsense, dull as dirt Isran, so he was obviously referring to someone else.

"What are you talking about?"

"Curious, are you? Good. I'm curious too. I'm curious as to why a vampire showed up here looking for you!"

What the fuck, Valkyrie thought to herself. She had a feeling that she knew who to expect.

"I'll be right up."

A few moments later, Valkyrie had made her way up the stairs to the upper balcony, and followed Isran into his room. Sure enough, Valkyrie was shocked, but not really surprised as she laid her eyes upon the vampire once again

"Serana?"

"Bet you never thought you'd see me again, huh?" Serana said with a smirk.

"Well, to be perfectly honest... no."

"Enough banter!" Isran shouted, his patience at an all time low. "Find out what it wants, and then we'll decide what to do with it... and you." He then stormed out of the room

That comment genuinely scared Valkyrie. Isran wasn't one to make threats unless he meant every word. This had better be good, she thought to herself.

"So, what are doing here?"

"Well, it involves my father, and the Elder Scroll. Which I'm sure you've noticed I have with me."

Valkyrie nodded. The Scroll was right on Serana's back, the same as it had been when she had first found her.

"What about them?"

"Well, I'm sure you've noticed that my father isn't exactly a good person, even by vampire standards."

"That would be the understatement of the century." Valkyrie said angrily. There had been at least a hundred lovely ways she had pictured Harkon dead by her hand in the last six months. Once the Dawnguard had gained the upper hand, she looked forward to making her fantasies a reality.

"Well, he wasn't always like that. Something... changed him."

"What did?"

"It's the reason I brought the Elder Scroll. What drove him over the edge was this... prophecy. He stumbled on an ancient prophecy that told of a time when vampires would no longer need to fear the sun."

"Are you saying Harkon wants to... extinguish the sun?" Valkyrie could not believe what she was hearing. Putting out the sun? That was impossible. Wasn't it?

"I know. But that's why I came here. I figured a bunch of vampires putting out the sun is the sort of thing a bunch of vampire hunters would want to prevent."

"Okay, but... why did you ask for me specifically?"

"Look, whether you trust me or not, I have a feeling I can trust you. Let's just leave it at that."

Valkyrie was satisfied with the answer, and she contemplated what Serana was saying. To extinguish the sun. It was insane. Sure, vampires would be able to go out into the open and not need to worry about being turned to ash, but... in the end, it would hurt them too. All life on Nirn would cease to exist. The grass, the trees, even the air that they breathed. It would all be gone.

"Well, I'd better go talk to Isran and convince him not to kill you." Valkyrie said after a moment.

"Hah! I'd like to see that motherfucker try." Serana said with a sneer.

Valkyrie couldn't help but laugh. She still had her doubts about Serana's loyalty, but the idea of the sun being put out was something that couldn't be ignored. It was time to put that tongue to use again.

"So you've heard what it has to say. Now tell me, is there any logical reason at all that I shouldn't march in there and take its head off?" Isran demanded.

"Actually, yes. I know why the vampires wanted the Elder Scroll."

Valkyrie spent twenty minutes trying to convince Isran that Serana was on their side. She explained about the prophecy, about Harkon and the Elder Scroll. It was the toughest verbal battle she had ever been in, but she eventually got Isran to reluctantly give in and let Serana stay, but without a word of warning.

"Let's get something straight right now, vampire. Don't expect to be treated like a guest, because you're not. You're a resource, nothing more. And if you so much as think about putting your hands on any of my men, I'm going to hold your friend here responsible." Isran glared at Serana and Valkyrie before storming off again.

"I hope you appreciate that." Valkyrie said. "I had to do some serious shit talking to convince him to let you stay."

"Don't worry. It will all be worth it once we stop my father." Serana assured.

"Speaking of which, how are we supposed to know what the Scroll says about the prophecy?"

"Well, we're going to need to find a Moth Priest."

"A what now?"

"A Moth Priest. Imperial scholars who read Elder Scrolls. I've been hearing rumors about one who arrived in Skyrim a few weeks ago."

Valkyrie was impressed with Serana's initiative, although she was reluctant to show it.

"So how are we supposed to find one?"

"Our best bet would be to head for the nearest city and talk to someone who would meet a traveler. Innkeepers, carriage drivers..."

"Then we'll head out tomorrow. Be ready." Valkyrie said as she began to walk off.

"I will. Oh, and Valkyrie?"

She turned around to face the vampire once more.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." 


	15. Chapter 11

Night had fallen. And so Valkyrie, as well as the rest of the Dawnguard were a bit wary of their new guest. Serana had kept to herself for the remainder of the evening after revealing the prophecy to Valkyrie and Isran. Nobody minded. In fact, Valkyrie was a bit glad Serana had decided not to do much talking. Although she enjoyed being around the vampire, she knew that doing so too often would cause her to let her guard down, and end up with a set of fangs in her neck.

Over the last six months, Fort Dawnguard had gone through some serious renovations. There was now enough space for each individual member to have their own room. Isran's was right in the center of the upper balcony in the main hall, and all the others were located in a hallway just beside it.

Valkyrie was trying to put her mind at ease by writing a letter to Ghorza and Moth. She missed her adoptive parents greatly, and hoped to visit them once this was all over. She was laying in her bed, face to the wall, just writing away, when she heard the door creak open, and a familiar voice followed.

"Hey. You awake?"

"Yeah, Serana. I'm awake."

Valkyrie should have known Serana would try to come in here. She braced herself for the conversation, reminding herself not to let her guard down no matter what happened. She sat up and turned to face Serana, but was unprepared for the sight.

Serana had thrown off her usual attire, a red and black vampiric robe that was said only to be found in Castle Volkihar, and in place of it was wearing a simple nightgown. It was also a bit too... revealing for Valkyrie's comfort. But she held it in for fear of angering the vampire, something she knew she wouldn't walk away from.

"What is it?"

"Just wanted to... you know, talk." Serana said as she sat down beside Valkyrie on the bed.

Serana just stared at the wall, but Valkyrie's eyes were covering every inch of her. Something about seeing Serana in that revealing nightgown made her... tingle.

By the Gods, she looks gorgeous, Valkyrie thought to herself, before remembering she was trying to have a conversation.

"What about?"

"Well, for one, I just wanted to thank you again for convincing your friends in here not to try and murder me." Serana said with a chuckle.

"It wasn't easy."

Silence again. Serana still hadn't turned to look at Valkyrie, but Valkyrie was still darting all over Serana with her eyes. This vampire had a fantastic body...

"So, hey, something I wanted to ask you..." Valkyrie said before doing something she would regret.

"Ask away."

"Were you always a vampire?"

"That's... a long story." Serana said with a flicker of pain in her eyes.

"I've got time."

Serana gave Valkyrie a run-down of how vampirism had originated from Molag Bal, the Deadric Prince of Domination. Of how her father was once a mighty king, but as his mortal life neared its end, he pledged himself to the prince, and of how Serana and her mother were forced to participate in a rather... degrading ritual, and in return, the three of them were made pure-blood vampires.

The tale nearly made Valkyrie cry.

"I... I'm sorry." was all she could manage to say.

"Don't be. You had nothing to do with it." Serana said reassuringly.

More silence. Valkyrie continued to gawk at Serana, when she began to notice a wet spot in a certain area of her trousers.

Oh Gods, she thought. This isn't happening.

Serana finally turned to look at Valkyrie, who jerked her eyes upward before the vampire was able to notice her staring. The two stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, although it felt like an age. Valkyrie found a certain... beauty in the bright amber hue that Serana's eyes had.

"You know," Serana said, "I hope you don't mind me saying, but you're... beautiful."

Valkyrie resisted the urge to faint. She had just spent the last ten minutes gawking at this gorgeous vampire, and now she was calling her beautiful. Valkyrie turned away.

"Thank you." she said, unable to hide a smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, Valkyrie could see Serana's head moving closer towards hers.

Oh Gods. Here it comes, she thought to herself.

Serana's lips made gentle contact with her neck, and this made Valkyrie shiver.

"What are you doing?" she asked, as though it weren't obvious.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Serana said with a wicked grin.

Valkyrie was so worked up, she couldn't possibly stop what was happening right now. Serana gently pushed Valkyrie down onto the bed so that she was lying on her back, as Serana climbed on top. The two women's lips met passionately, and Valkyrie was wondering if she had died and gone to Sovngarde.

"Just... like old... times... right?" Serana said in between kisses.

"I... really... don't think... we should... be doing this." Valkyrie tried to argue.

Serana parted lips with her and smirked.

"Man, you're a hard person to get to. If that spot on your trousers is any indication, I think you want this to happen as much as I do."

Valkyrie's face turned a bright red, and Serana laughed. They continued for a minute or two, before Valkyrie snapped out of it.

"No" she said, forcing Serana's lips to part with hers.

"What?" was Serana's reply.

"I said no. We're not doing this." She said. This vampire wasn't going to get the better of her.

"Get off of me!" With those words, Valkyrie shoved Serana off of her, and the vampire fell off of the bed and into the floor.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Serana said as got to her feet

"What's MY problem? I should ask you the same damn question!"

"Why can't you just trust me?"

That was it. Valkyrie had had enough. It was time to let this bitch have it. She told Serana about the Karthwasten attack. About her father and brother being killed by none other than Harkon himself. About the vampire threatening to snap her neck, about being all alone at nine years old, the nightmares, her vow. Everything

Serana had been completely caught off guard by all this. She stood there for a moment in awe, unsure of what to say, as Valkyrie glared a hole through her.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Well, now you know. And you also know why I can't trust you. For all I know, you could be a fucking sleeper agent that Harkon sent down here to destroy us."

Serana was shocked, and also devastated that Valkyrie would accuse her of something like that. Tears began to roll down Serana's face.

"How dare you, you fucking bitch..." Serana said in a shaky voice, resisting the urge to break down on the spot.

"No, how dare YOU." Valkyrie retorted. "Get out."

Serana stormed out of the room, and left Valkyrie alone with her thoughts.

"I need to change my fucking pants."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow. Broken hearts AND unrelieved sexual tensions? I'm such an asshole... 


	16. Chapter 12

Morning came quickly. Valkyrie was not looking forward to facing Serana after what had happened the previous night, but she had little choice in the matter. After all, they had a world to save, and a sun to preserve. As Valkyrie was fitting into her new Dawnguard armor, and making sure she had an anmple amount of bolts for her crossbow, she thought back to last night. Serana had seemed very upset and hurt by what had been said, and Valkyrie began to wonder if she had been a bit too harsh on the vampire. But she quickly reminded herself that vampires were the ultimate decievers and actors, and that she should stop worrying about it.

Valkyrie made her way to the kitchen to have breakfast. No sign of Serana, although someone mentioned she was by the main entrance. That suited Valkyrie just fine. The less time she had to spend with the vampire today, the better.

"Where do you think you're going?" Isran said as Valkyrie was heading out.

"Serana and I are going to look for a Moth Priest to read the Elder Scroll."

"I don't care about some priest. You're still a Dawnguard soldier, and thus, you still have duties. I have another field assignment for you."

Damn it, Valkyrie thought. Same old Isran.

"There's a cave just northwest of Riften that has been reported to have shown vampire activity. Go there, kill every one of them, and then you can go on your wild goose chase for this priest."

Isran obviously didn't put much stock in prophecies. Valkyrie accepted that finding the Moth Priest would have to wait, but Serana wasn't going to be happy.

"So let me get this straight. Isran wants you to spend time we could be using to find the priest, going to kill some common cave-feeding vampires?"

"What do you want me to do? He's my leader."

"Well, your leader is a fucking idiot."

Valkyrie got angry. He may have been an old, stubborn bastard, but Isran was no idiot. He was the leader of the damn Dawnguard and deserved respect! Valkyrie felt the urge to slap Serana, but knew that would be a terrible idea. She just shook her head, and the two set off.

The walk to Riften was spent mostly in silence. The two women didn't have much to say to each other. Valkyrie looked over at Serana, who, even though the hood she was wearing obscured her face, was wearing a pained look in her eyes. Valkyrie couldn't help but feel a bit guilty...

"Well, here we are." Serana said as they arrived at the cave. "Get in there and do your job so we can find this priest."

Valkyrie sighed. Serana was obviously not going to let their fight go very easily. Still, though, she had a job to do. Dealing with her would have to wait.

As Valkyrie moved silently through the cave, crossbow in hand, she got the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong. She came into a large, open section of the cave that was perfect for an ambush, although still clinging to the shadows to avoid being seen. She heard a voice...

"What in the name of Molag Bal is taking them so long?"

"Keep your patience. The vampire hunter and Serana should be here soon enough, and once we've dealt with them, Lord Harkon will reward us magnificently for bringing him their heads."

Valkyrie's heart began racing. It was a trap the entire time! Not only that, but these were Volkihar vampires, much more powerful than normal ones. She had to be careful about this. There were four of them standing around, and Valkyrie figured she could take out at least two with the crossbow before they would be able to find her. She let one fly, and it landed right in one's chest, piercing his heart.

The other vampires readied themselves and began moving towards the general direction the bolt had come from, as Valkyrie let another go, and this one pierced another vampire's throat. Valkyrie thanked the Gods that Isran and Durak had pushed her so hard, as she had learned to reload her crossbow much quicker than she had been able to at Dimhollow.

But now the vampire had spotted her, so Valkyrie pulled out her dagger and prepared to fight for her life. She took a quick swipe at one vampire, who jumped back and pulled out his own. Meanwhile, the other vampire had pulled out a war axe and was swinging like a madman. Valkyrie had to bob and weave between her two attackers, each slice, stab, or thrust coming closer than the last. Her own dagger finally found its way into the first vampire's neck.

One problem taken care of, she thought to herself.

She pulled her blade out, and swung horizontally at the other vampire, who bent back underneath the swing, and at the same lifted his foot upwards, which made hard enough contact with Valkyrie's jaw to knock her over onto her back.

The vampire was just about to swing his axe for the final time and split her face right in two, when a familiar pair of hands reached out from behind and snapped his neck. The vampire fell to the ground, dead, revealing a still angry Serana behind him.

Valkyrie massaged her jaw, amazed at what had just happened. This vampire, who she had ridiculed, accused, and distrusted since they had met had just saved her sorry hide. And AFTER she had accused her of being a spy sent from her father, no less. Maybe it was time to make amends...

"Get up. We still have work to do." Serana said flatly.

Valkyrie got to her feet, picking up the dagger she had dropped when the vampire kicked her.

"Hey, Serana?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks..."

Valkyrie apparently had a look on her face that suggested she had more to say. She was still taking in the fact that Serana had still saved her after what they had said to each other the previous night. Regardless of the past, however, Serana had earned Valkyrie's trust. They stood there in silence for a moment, as Valkyrie worked up the courage to say what needed to be said.

"One more thing?"

"What's up?"

"I just... I wanted to apologize for being such a bitch to you. Not just last night, but since we met. It took me a while to see it, but you're different than your family. I just... I'm sorry, okay?"

The anger on Serana's face disappeared, and it appeared she was contemplating what had been said. She began to chuckle.

"Thanks. And... I guess I have alot to apologize for, too."

"Not as much as I do."

"No, really. I mean, my father murdered your family. That's not really something you can forgive very easily."

"That's completely on your father. He'll answer for what he's done when the time comes."

"So... does this mean you trust me now?"

"I do."

Valkyrie held out her hand, the gesture she had denied Serana back at Dimhollow.

"Friends?"

Serana returned the handshake.

"Friends." 


	17. Chapter 13A

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, damn. I had to break my habit of daily chapters being posted. Sorry, I just had some... business... to attend to. No need to ask questions. Anyway, I'll still be writing as much as I can, but my life is starting to get a little busy again, so there may be periods of a day or two when I won't be able to put anything up. But I'll try to make those as rare as possible. Anyway, thanks. Read this shit, review this shit, then pass this shit to your friends. Thanks, and by the way, you're all sexy as hell ;)

Valkyrie and Serana made their way towards the Riften stables. This journey was like night and day compared to the walk they had made towards the cave. Whereas before, there was mostly silence and distrust, now the two were making jokes every few seconds, and talking as though they'd been best friends for decades. Valkyrie was relieved she could finally be open with the vampire, as being on her guard all the time had proven to be quite draining. They had arrived...

"Excuse me, sir?" Valkyrie asked as she approached the carriage driver.

"Yes? You two ladies need a ride?"

"No, I was wondering if you had heard anything about a Moth Priest being in Skyrim?"

"That's one of them Imperial scholars, right? Actually, I think there's one staying at The Winking Skeever in Solitude."

Valkyrie turned around and gave a thumbs up to Serana, who had been standing back and letting her counterpart do the talking, so as to not risk the man finding out he was about to give a ride to a vampire.

"Then we will be needing a ride. To Solitude, please."

SIX DAYS LATER...

"Are we almost there? The sun's not exactly good for my skin, if you catch my drift."

Valkyrie snickered at Serana's little joke. But she knew how hard this ride had been on the vampire. The carriage had to take them all the way across the province, after all, and Serana wasn't used to being in the sun for extended periods of time. Not to mention, even Valkyrie thought it was scorching hot outside. She could only imagine what kind of pain Serana must have been in.

"Actually, yes. We should be coming up on the main gates any moment." replied the driver.

Valkyrie looked over and saw the driver was right. Solitude. She had only been here once before in her life, right after the attack in Dragon Bridge. The outer walls hadn't seemed to change much, but Valkyrie could tell the city was a different place than it had been all those years ago. For one thing, there were Legion soldiers everywhere, each one with a more suspicious look on his face than the next. They obviously were expecting trouble at any moment, and Valkyrie couldn't blame them. In recent weeks, the Stormcloaks were beginning to gain a bit of ground in the war, securing The Pale, The Rift, and Winterhold. But there would be time to dwell on the war later, Valkyrie had a job to do.

The two entered the city, and as luck would have it, The Winking Skeever was just inside the gates. They ignored the man who was being executed, apprently for letting Ulfric Stormcloak escape the city after the murder of Torryg, the previous High King. Just another distraction, Valkyrie thought to herself.

"Excuse me, is there a Moth Priest staying here, by any chance?"

"There was, but he left for Dragon Bridge. Sorry."

"Gods damn it!" Valkyrie said. They had already followed this man across the province once, and now it appears they would have to do so again.

"He just left a few hours ago. If you leave now, I'm sure you could catch him!" the inkeeper reassured.

"No time to lose then." Serana piped up. "Let's move."

The two bolted out of The Winking Skeever, then through the city gates in the same fashion, and sprinted for Dragon Bridge as though their lives depended on it. Because, if Harkon got his hands on the Moth Priest first, it would. The run took only ten minutes, as Dragon Bridge was just down the road from Solitude. They arrived in the town, sweaty and out of breath, and Valkyrie thanked the Gods once more for her training, otherwise she wouldn't have had the endurance to make that run. The same couldn't be said for Serana, who looked extremely pale, even for vampire standards. Valkyrie thought she looked as though she was about to pass out.

"Oh Gods, are you alright?" she asked her vampire companion.

"Yeah..." Serana said weakly. "...No." She fell to her knees, and Valkyrie nearly went into a panic. She wrapped one of Serana's arms onto her shoulder and helped to lift her up off the ground.

"Come on, let's get you out of the sun."

They made there way into the inn, and Valkyrie sat Serana down in a chair near the fire. Her vampiric friend seemed to already be feeling better, and Valkyrie thanked the Gods once more before making her way over to the inkeeper.

"Excuse me, do you know anything about a Moth Priest coming through Dragon Bridge?"

"Actually, yes. One rode through town just a bit ago with an escort of Imperial soldiers."

"Great. Time to do some more running." Valkyrie said, disappointed.

"Well, to be honest, the escort was moving at a snail's pace. You could probably wait a bit, and still be able to catch him before he gets too far. Besides, your friend over there looks like she's taking ill. Is she okay?"

Valkyrie's heart began pumping. She had to think of something quick.

"She'll be fine. She's a little... lightheaded from the heat."

Valkyrie went back over to sit with Serana. Well, she thought, that wasn't a total lie.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. I just needed to be out of the sun for a bit."

The two waited for a few hours, and when the sun was just setting, they hit the road once more in search of the priest. Valkyrie didn't tell Serana how worried she had truly been when her friend had fallen down. She had figured they had enough to worry about right now. They walked down the road out of Dragon Bridge, keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of the Moth Priest or his escort. Serana stopped.

"Looks like someone else found him."

Valkyrie looked ahead down the road, but she couldn't see anything. "What are you talking about?"

"There. Down the road."

Valkyrie saw nothing, but then she remembered that Serana's vampirism increased her senses tenfold, so it wasn't surprising she saw something that Valkyrie didn't.

"I see a wrecked wagon, a dead horse, and a bunch of corpses in Legion armor."

Valkyrie's heart skipped a beat. If they were too late... if Harkon had found the Moth Priest first... The two women rushed to the scene of the attack. No priest. They began searching desperately to see if there was any sort of clue as to where he had been taken. According to Serana, the Volkihars had no involvement in this, otherwise there would hardly be anything left of these soldiers. Then Valkyrie noticed a dead vampire among the Legion corpses. She searched the bloodsucker frantically, looking for anything and everything that might have a clue as to where the vampires had gone. She then stumbled onto a hastily written note.

"Serana, I think I have something." 


	18. Chapter 13B

"So this is it, huh? Forbears' Holdout." Serana said, visibly unimpressed.

"I guess so. This where the note said..." Valkyrie replied, readying her crossbow.

"Who was that name on the note? Malkus?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

"I've definitely heard the name before. He's not a Volkihar, as far as I know, but I think he kept on good terms with my father. Kind of a field agent."

Valkyrie took a deep breath before leading Serana into the cave. The tunnel entrance was very narrow at first, and the two almost had to squeeze their way through, but there was a large clearing into a cavern, which contained what seemed like a small fortress, with more of the statuary Valkyrie had seen in Dimhollow. She took a step forward, before...

"Wait a second." Serana pointed near the entrance. "Death Hounds."

Valkyrie got down on one knee to steady her aim. She took a deep breath, and let a bolt fly from her crossbow, it landed perfectly between the eyes of a Death Hound, who fell over dead instantaneously. Valkyrie smiled back at Serana, and the two moved silently towards the entrance. Serana got to the walls first and peeked in. There were about ten vampires, but no sign of the Moth Priest. She turned back to Valkyrie...

"There's ten of them. They're the common ones, though, so this should be easy. You ready?"

"Let's do this."

The two emerged from the entrance, daggers drawn, ready to spill some tainted blood. Within seconds, the vampires moved their positions to surround the women, who then had no choice but to start fighting back-to-back. They dodged and struck, maneuvered and stabbed as if they were a single body fighting on two fronts. Within two minutes, every one of their attackers were dead.

"We make a pretty good team." Valkyrie said, admiring Serana's skill in battle. This had been the first time she had actually seen the vampire in a fight, and she was throughly impressed.

"I was just thinking the same thing." Serana said, equally impressed.

The two looked around for any sign of the Moth Priest when Valkyrie found a stairwell that had been blocked off by the vampires before they had died. The two made their way up the stairs, carefully, as not to raise any further suspicion. They stopped just when they could see it. Three vampires, standing before a wall of energy that resembled a Ward spell, but was circular, and appeared to be coming up out of the ground. Inside the wall was... it was him! The Moth Priest! It had to be!

"How much longer is this going to take?" One of the vampires said.

"Don't worry." Another piped up. This one was obviously Malkus, the leader. "He can't keep this fight up forever. We'll break him soon enough."

That was all Valkyrie needed to hear. She turned to Serana...

"I'll take Malkus if you've got his underlings."

"Done." said Serana, readying her magic.

The fight was over in seconds. Serana had taken care of the two lackeys with a few well placed ice spikes, while Valkyrie had stood back and let a bolt from her crossbow lodge itself in Malkus' heart. As soon as the three were dead, the wall of energy disappeared. The Moth Priest, who had fallen unconcious, got to his feet.

"Unnhh. My head. What's going on?"

"Are you alright, sir?" Valkyrie said, helping the man up. Up close, it was clear he was quite elderly, and needed a bit of help.

"I am now. Thank you both. My name is Dexion Evicus."

"And you're a Moth Priest." Serana piped up.

"Yes! How on Nirn did you know?"

"We need you for the same purpose these vampires did." Valkyrie said

"Ah, how interesting. Very well then. Where are we headed?"

"Fort Dawnguard, southeast of Riften. We'll fill you in on the details on the way there." 


	19. Chapter 14

"I'm impressed you were able to find a Moth Priest so quickly!"

Valkyrie smiled. Isran had never been one to give out compliments, let alone admit that someone had impressed him. Better savor it while it lasts, she thought. She turned to Serana...

"Do you have it?"

"I left it with Isran. Figured he'd get suspicious if I took it with me."

"And for good reason, too, bloodsucker." Isran butted in.

Valkyrie had to stop herself from chuckling. She knew Serana could be trusted, but if the others didn't, it wasn't a big deal. She was sure they would come around eventually, but for now, she had to focus on this prophecy.

"Excuse me, what exactly are we talking about?" Dexion piped up. "I remember the two of you saying something about the vampires needing me for an Elder Scroll, but beyond that-"

"We have the Elder Scroll the vampires were after. And we need you to read it." Serana cut him off. Valkyrie was surprised that she had gone from being a funny, loudmouthed jokester, to being completely all-business.

"You have an Elder Scroll? Remarkable! May I see it?"

"Of course." Isran said, handing Dexion the Scroll.

The priest took a step back, followed by a deep breath, and unraveled the Scroll.

"Now, then. If everyone will please be quiet, I must concentrate..."

The next few moments were filled with ramblings about what Dexion saw in his vision. He began using long, complicated words as often as he could, but Valkyrie got the gist of what he was saying. The prophecy did indeed tell of a time when a Night Lord would rise, with power unsurmountable, and would effectively end the sun. But to do this, he needed... a weapon. A weapon of immense power itself, that could only be found by those who had been deemed truly worthy by... who was it? Auri-El? The prophecy told of his bow, Auriel's Bow, and how it had the power to block out the sun, permanently. Valkyrie began to shiver at thought, when suddenly...

"It appears... there is more to the prophecy. But the... rest is written elsewhere... in another Scroll. If we are to... know the complete prophecy... we must have... the other."

Dexion appeared to be very weary from his reading, and began to wobble before falling to his knees. Isran rushed over to help him up.

"Come on, old man. Let's get you some rest."

Valkyrie had to admit, she was a bit disappointed. They had gone through all that trouble, just to be slapped in the face and let known that their work was not done. But then again, they WERE trying to stop an ancient prophecy that involved the sun going out. She hadn't expected this to be easy.

"Hey, can we talk for a minute?"

Valkyrie nearly jumped. She had been so lost in thought, she had almost forgotten that Serana was there.

"Of course. What is it?"

"The priest said we needed to find another Elder Scroll. I think I know where we can start looking."

"What? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Half the people in your little group would kill me rather than look at me. Doesn't exactly make me want to open up."

Valkyrie sighed. Serana had a point. After all, they were vampire hunters. Their entire identities were centered around killing vampires, so it was only natural for them not to trust Serana. Speaking of Serana...

"I got a warmer welcome from my father. And that's saying something."

At this point, Valkyrie just didn't know what to say. She knew Serana and Harkon didn't exactly get along, but she was starting to think there was alot more to it than the norm. She obviously hated him, and maybe it was time to find out why.

"What is it between you and Harkon?"

"He doesn't even see me as his daughter anymore. I'm just... a means to an end."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since he found that prophecy, he's never cared for anything else. Not me, not my mother. He just... he lost himself in it. It consumed him."

Valkyrie felt for her friend. It must have been miserable at best living with such a monster, and at the same time, she thanked the Gods that she herself had been lucky enough to have had not just one, but two loving families who would do anything for her. But then Serana started breathing more heavily, and it was clear her emotions were boiling.

"Oh, who the fuck am I kidding? I don't know if he was ever concerned with anything other than himself. Even before... we... became what we are, he was always a selfish, arrogant tyrant. Always barking orders at me and mother. Serana, do this! Valerica, do that! He never once stopped to consider the fact that we were a family. And then... that ritual..."

Valkyrie was genuinely afraid of what was about to happen. She wanted to try and console her friend, but at the same time, she knew Serana was still much stronger than her, so one wrong move could end up with her dead. Serana was fighting the urge to break down on the spot before she spoke up again...

"You remember... I told you that... vampirism came... from Molag Bal, right?"

Valkyrie nodded.

"We summoned him... it was madness, I told my father... to summon a Daedric Prince... but... he wouldn't listen. It... it was tradition for... for the females to be... offered to him during... the ritual."

Valkyrie winced. It was only just now that she was realizing all that Serana had been through. Even though she was close to falling apart right now, Valkyrie had a newfound level of admiration and respect for her vampire companion.

"That fucking bastard... He... He let a Daedric Prince do... horrible... unspeakable... things to me. And for no other fucking reason than to gain power for himself!"

Serana could take it no more. She began to sob uncontrollably, and Valkyrie didn't hesitate. She grabbed her friend and hugged her as tight as she possibly could, trying to offer any sort of comfort she could muster. The two stood for a moment, the only sound being made was Serana's crying into Valkyrie's shoulder

"Serana... I... I'm so sorry." Valkyrie said after a minute. "I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to tell me that."

She was resisting the urge to cry herself, still unable to comprehend how a father could do something like that to his own flesh and blood.

"Listen, I just want you to know that I'm here for you, okay?" Valkyrie said, not daring to let go of her friend just yet.

"Thank you, Valkyrie." came Serana's muffled response. "You have no idea how much that means to me." 


	20. Chapter 15

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Almost 6,000 views? Hell to the mahfuckin' yes! Just letting you guys know that I may be gone for a few more days, because I just got The Tyranny Of King Washington for Assassin's Creed 3. So, it's probably going to keep me busy for a while. But I'll try to write and post as much as possible!

As Valkyrie lay in her bed, exhausted from her journey around Skyrim, her mind wandered. She thought of this prophecy, still questioning if it was even possible to extinguish the sun. She simply couldn't comprehend how a bow, personally forged by a god or not, had the power to put out the source of life for all Tamriel.

She thought of Harkon, the bastard who had killed her family with no provocation whatsoever, and had subjected his own daughter to the vile whims of a Daedric Prince, for the most selfish reasons she had ever heard. When the time came, he would pay dearly for all that he'd done, and Valkyrie was going to enjoy making him suffer.

She thought of the doubt in her mind. What if she didn't have what it took to stop the prophecy? What if all this work and perserverance got her, was a decapitation at the hands of a homicidally insane vampire king?

But most of all, she thought about Serana. She knew full well she was allowing herself to get attached to the vampire, but she didn't care. Isran and the others could take their opinions and shove them. Serana was her friend, and she trusted her with her own life. Then, as if on cue, the door to Valkyrie's room creaked open, followed by the voice of her favorite vampire...

"You still awake?"

"Yeah." Valkyrie said, sitting up in her bed. "What's up?"

Serana sat down on the bed beside Valkyrie. She was wearing that nightgown again, and memories of the night the vampire had tried to seduce her flooded Valkyrie's head. She began wondering where Serana had gotten the gown. It was the darkest black Valkyrie had ever seen, and was cut off at just above the vampire's knees. And by the Gods, she looked... enticing... in it.

"I, uh... I wanted to apologize about earlier. I shouldn't have put you through that."

Valkyrie was stunned. Serana was actually apologizing for breaking down, after all she had been through? She resisted the urge to laugh.

"Are you kidding? You have nothing to aplogize for."

"Well, I just didn't think you deserved to hear about my troubles."

Valkyrie gave Serana a playful punch to arm. "What else are friends for?"

Serana chuckled, and now there was silence once more. Valkyrie was still gawking at the sight of Serana in her gown. Just the sight of her was getting Valkyrie worked up. She started biting her lips viciously, trying to hold back the urge to jump on Serana right then and there, but she managed to regain her composure. Serana spoke again...

"What do you think is going to happen? I mean if we can't stop my father?"

"Well, for one thing, the world is going to end." Valkyrie said, still worried. "But other than that, I don't know..."

Serana turned and stared into her friend's eyes.

"Just promise me, whatever happens, you'll be there with me?"

"Of course I will."

Serana smiled, and turned back away from Valkyrie, who seized the oppurtunity to begin undressing Serana with her eyes once again. She started sweating, not enough for anyone but her to notice, but enough to drive her crazy with desire. All it would take was just one invitation from Serana, and she would be doing Gods-know-what.

No, she thought, trying to control herself. Not right now.

"So, just a question..." she said to Serana.

"Yeah?"

"Earlier, you said something about finding another Scroll, and that it had something to do with your mother."

"Yes. Her name was Valerica. Basically, my father had two Elder Scrolls. She locked one away with me, then took the other one and disappeared. If we're going to find the Scroll, we have to find her."

"But she disappeared thousands of years ago. Where could she possibly have gone?"

"I don't know. She said... somewhere that my father would never suspect. I have no idea what she could have meant by that. Any ideas?"

Valkyrie thought for a moment. "Do you think maybe she went to hide with another group of vampire hunters like the Dawnguard?"

Serana almost laughed. "They'd be even less welcoming to her than they were to me. Besides, I don't really think there WERE any groups of vampire hunters before these people."

"Hmm..." Valkyrie thought again. "Maybe she was sealed away like you were?"

"No, she told me she wanted one of us awake in case things went bad, and... well, she's much more powerful than I am."

Valkyrie had nearly exhausted her head of all possible options. Somewhere Harkon would never think to look... then it hit her.

"What if,., what if she had been hiding in Castle Volkihar the whole time?"

Serana's eyes grew wide. It made perfect sense. Harkon would never have believed that Valerica would have the nerve to hide right under his nose.

"By the Gods, I think I know where to start looking." Serana turned to Valkyrie with a huge smile. "Beauty AND brains." she said jokingly.

Valkyrie laughed at the comment, but soon the room fell silent again. Valkyrie's eyes found their way into Serana's, and it was a complete deja vu moment from the weeks before. Valkyrie looked down at Serana's mouth, and bit her lip once more. Serana chuckled, as she knew exactly what her friend wanted. She didn't hesitate.

Serana moved towards Valkyrie, eventually meeting the two's lips in a passionate embrace. The two kissed back and forth for a moment, and it was wonderful. Valkyrie was still trying to stop herself, however, but to no avail. She wanted this vampire so bad, and this vampire wanted her too.

As the two continued their passionate lip-battle, Serana's hands began to go to work. One of them went to Valkyrie's face, gently caressing it as though it were a delicately made fabric. The other hand, however, found its way down into Valkyrie's most intimate regions. Serana was surprised, but also delighted, to discover that Valkyrie's trousers were soaked.

Valkyrie felt Serana's hand on her crotch, and shivered violently at the touch. She had never been more turned on in her life, and she was prepared to let this vampire do whatever she wanted. Serana gently pushed Valkyrie down onto the bed, and began straddling her, as she had done the last time this had happened.

Serana's hand was still on Valkyrie's crotch, and it was getting warmer and wetter by the minute. They continued to kiss with a feverish desire that was only getting more intense as they went on. Serana was just about to remove Valkyrie's shirt, when Valkyrie snapped herself out this euphoria and back to reality.

"Serana... no." she said simply.

Serana parted her lips from Valkyrie. "What do you mean, no?"

"I'm... I'm sorry. I can't do this. Not right now."

Serana responded by tightening her grip on Valkyrie's crotch, which made her squirm, and that in turn made Serana chuckle.

"Oh, I think you can..." the vampire said seductively, going in for another kiss.

Valkyrie stopped Serana before she could get there, and gently pushed the vampire off of her, so as not to repeat what happened last time.

"No, just... not now."

Serana got off Valkyrie, but didn't stand up from the bed. She just sat there, as Valkyrie also sat herself up. She had a guilty look on her face, and it was clear she had wanted to keep going, but obviously something had stopped her. The two simply sat there, the situation becoming more awkward with each passing moment, before Serana tried to lighten the mood.

"Nobody likes a tease, you know."

The two burst into laughter at the comment

ANOTHER AUTHOR'S NOTE: Nope. Sorry. Not this time. I really am an asshole... 


	21. Chapter 16

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Happy Easter, you sexy people! You'd think that spring break would mean I have more time to write, but nope. I've got boring family stuff to do all week. Oh well, it is a burden I must bear.

Valkyrie shivered. She had hoped to never set foot on this island again, but Serana was certain it was the only way to find the other Elder Scroll. The massive fortress of Castle Volkihar shadowed over her, and doubts once again flooded her mind. What if Valerica wasn't here? What if Harkon found them? She was mulling it over when Serana spoke up...

"Well, we're not going to get the Scroll standing around like this."

Valkyrie laughed, always appreciative of Serana's humor. But then another thought crossed her mind...

"You know, they're not exactly going to let us waltz in through the front door."

"I know. But there's a back door that's been all but completely forgotten."

"Really? Where?"

"Around the back. Duh." Serana chuckled "The previous owners used it to get supplies into the castle. We didn't really require that, so we just kind of shut it down."

With that word, the two made their way across the coast of the island, being very careful not to attract any attention from the various thralls Harkon had positioned on the upper walls. Valkyrie was worried. It seemed Harkon knew Serana was working with the Dawnguard, and was preparing to take all measures to make sure the prophecy came true.

"Looks like daddy stepped up security."

"Doesn't matter. These thralls are about as useless as Argonians in a blizzard."

Valkyrie was reassured, and as the two finally reached the back entrance of the massive castle, another thought popped into her head.

"Did you spend alot of time down here?"

"Yeah. My parents almost never let me off the island, so I did alot of exploring. I guess a little vampire girl was enough to scare off the skeevers. I admit, I was a wierd little kid."

Valkyrie chuckled. "I think you turned out alright." she paused for a moment before speaking again.

"That sounds pretty lonely, though."

"It was. I guess I just kind of got used to it."

More silence. Valkyrie could tell that Serana was reliving some painful memories. She had never known what it was like to have an actual family who loved and cared about her. Valkyrie felt for her vampire friend. Maybe, when all this was over, she would take her to meet Moth and Ghorza.

"By the way, I wanted to thank you." Valkyrie said after a moment.

"What for?"

"Well, when I found out about what you had gone through with your own family, it made me realize how lucky I am to have had TWO families who loved me."

Serana chuckled. "What was your family like? I mean, your biological one."

Valkyrie sighed. She began to feel guilty for not thinking of her father and brother for this long.

"They were good people. I miss them."

"Oh." Serana stopped for a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring back any painful memories."

"It's fine."

The two kept walking. They had reached the undercroft of the castle which lead into the courtyard, but, in traditional evil-psychotic-vampire-overlord fashion, there were deadly traps every few feet. Everything from gargoyles, to skeletons, to vampire rejects whom Harkon had deemed unworthy to become Volkihars, but still found their way into the undercroft. Each one was more dangerous than the last, but Valkyrie and Serana's combined skills managed to make short work of them.

"Your father sure is paranoid." Valkyrie commented

"Yeah, he is. But I think my mother set most of these. My father almost never came down here."

"Why?"

"My mother used to have a huge garden in the courtyard. I'd come down there and help her as often as I could, but my father hated the place. Said it was too peaceful. Maybe if he'd spent more time with us, he would have seen the beauty of the place for himself."

"So, you got along with your mother pretty well, then?"

Serana almost smiled. "Like the best of friends. But, after my father really went over the edge, she started to grow apart from me too. It was... really lonely."

Valkyrie felt sorry for her friend once more. And she was also amazed that after all Serana had been through with her family, she was still being this strong.

"You talk about being lonely alot."

"Well, I was. You get used to it after a while, I guess. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"I mean... do you ever get lonely?"

Valkyrie went silent for a moment. She had never really thought about this before. Growing up in Markarth, and in Karthwasten before that, she had never really spent much time with anyone except her families.

"I... I guess I was for a while. I never really had many friends before I left the The Reach."

"What about now?"

Valkyrie chuckled. "Well, now... if I feel lonely, I just have to look over and get a nice, big glimpse of my favorite vampire."

"Aw, aren't you sweet?" Serana replied, giving an exaggerated flutter of her eyelashes.

They had reached the door to the courtyard. Valkyrie was excited to see the place Serana had spent so much time in, but was also terrified. What if there were a few Volkihars waiting for them? What if something worse had found its way into the courtyard? It was hard to think that something could be worse than the most powerful vampires in Skyrim, but after all they had been through, Valkyrie was sure that they would run into some more unexpected trouble.

"Well, here we go." Serana said. "I can't wait to see the courtyard again."

Valkyrie nodded and smiled as her friend opened the door, and rushed out into the favorite place of her childhood, but neither of them were prepared for the sight of it.

"Oh, Gods, no..." Serana said, as she stopped dead in her tracks.

The courtyard had been completely destroyed... 


	22. Chapter 17

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Jesus, I'm slipping. I've gone from putting up 4 or 5 chapters a day to going almost an entire week without an update. Thanks for being so patient with me, you guys. My life has been a bit hectic lately, between work, school, and rehearsal (I'm playing the giant man-eating plant in Little Shop Of Horrors) so thanks for being patient with me. I wuv u gaiz

Valkyrie was shocked at the state of the garden. From Serana had said about it, she had figured it would be one of the most beautiful places in Tamriel, but this... it was a wasteland. The plant life was completely dead and rotting. She looked over at Serana, who appeared to be fighting back tears.

"It... it wasn't always like this, I promise you." Serana said in a shaky voice. "Do you know how beautiful something can be when it's tended by a master for centuries?"

Valkyrie put her hand on Serana's shoulder. "I can only imagine. I'm sorry, Serana."

It took a moment, but Serana regained her composure and took a look around. Valkyrie had been so busy comforting her friend, she hadn't even noticed the giant sundial in the center of the yard.

"Hold on. There's something wrong with the moondial."

...Or moondial in the center of the yard.

"The what?" Valkyrie asked.

"The moondial. Originally there was a sundial here, but that obviously didn't appeal to a bunch of vampires. So my mother... persuaded an artisan to come up down here and make some improvements."

"Interesting. So what's wrong with it?"

"Some of the crests have been torn off. I didn't even know they could be removed."

Valkyrie was way ahead of Serana, and she began looking around the ruined courtyard for the missing crests. There was a crescent moon, a half moon, and a full moon, and each had been flung to random locations in the garden, probably by Harkon after his wife disappeared, or by Valerica to cover her tracks. Whatever it was, Valkyrie was sure finding these crests would give them some clue as to where to find Valerica.

In no time at all, the two had found the crests and placed them in their respective spots. Suddenly, the ground began to shake and they readied themselves, unsure of what to expect. The moondial... shifted, revealing a secret passageway underneath the castle which lead into the eastern tower.

"Very clever, mother..." Serana muttered.

"We must be getting close, then."

"Maybe. Be careful. I didn't even know this part of the castle existed, so I don't know what to expect."

Great, Valkyrie thought. But even without a sure lead, she was happy to be getting somewhere. Valkyrie didn't want to tell Serana, but she was very doubtful they were even going to find any cluse as to where Valerica disappeared to, much less find the vampire herself. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, for fear of causing her friend anymore pain.

No sooner had Valkyrie entered the secret passageway, were the two attacked by gargoyles, skeletons, and rabid Death Hounds. The two fought their way through the tower ruins with ease. Although these creatures were dangerous and bloodthirsty, they were no match for the combined skills of a Volkihar vampire and a seasoned vampire hunter. Valkyrie almost began to laugh because the traps Valerica had set were hardly even slowing them down. But her smile disappeared when they hit a dead end...

"Great. Now what?" Serana said. It was clear the anticipation of possibly seeing her mother again was making the vampire a bit... unsettled.

Valkyrie began to inspect the dead end. It was nothing more than a simple fireplace, although, for some odd reason, it was much better preserved than the rest of the tower, which was almost completely in ruins. She began feeling around every inch of the place, looking for anything that could tell them what to do next. As luck would have it, while fiddling with one of the scones on the wall, she accidentally pulled it off. At first Valkyrie was terrified that she had broken it, but then the fireplace began to shift, revealing a hidden passageway further into the tower.

"Well, what do you know?" Serana said with a smile. "My mother always was smarter than I gave her credit for."

"I think we're close." Valkyrie responded, readying herself.

Behind the fireplace, there was only a short hallway, maybe a few feet long, and a simple wooden door. Valkyrie was unsure what they would find on the other side, and proceeded with caution. Serana, however, seemed completely unafraid of whatever may have been waiting behind the door, and simply barged in.

"By the Eight..."

Valkyrie rushed to catch up to friend, to see what it was that had her mesmerized. She walked into the room, which turned out to be the largest, most eclectic, and impressive alchemy laboratory she had ever seen. Back in Markarth, the only alchemy labs she had ever seen were the ones Bothella from The Hag's Cure had used. Valkyrie had always guessed that old Bothella must have been unrivaled in the art of alchemy, but this... this laboratory was beyond comprehension.

"Your mother maintained quite a laboratory." was all Valkyrie could bring herself to say.

"I had no idea this room even existed. She kept it a secret, even from me. I guess she thought whatever she was working on was dangerous."

It was then that Valkyrie noticed the center of the room. There was a strange formation in the tiles on the floor. She was wondering what they could possibly be used for, but it appeared Serana worked it out first.

"I think I know what she was working on..."

The next few minutes were filled with a lengthy explanation about Valerica's experiments. Her belief in a plane of Oblivion called the Soul Cairn, where souls used for enchanting were sent. How it was ruled by beings known as the Ideal Masters. How Valerica was apparently trying to summon them, in order to request refuge in the Soul Cairn. And how the formation in the center of the roon was definitely a portal.

Serana instructed Valkyrie to look around for Valerica's journal, as her mother kept detailed notes about her research. If she found it, she was sure they would be able to find her, and hopefully wherever she hid the Elder Scroll. It took a few minutes, but Valkyrie finally found it. She was tempted to look through the journal, to see exactly what was going on in Valerica's head when she had acted this plan out, but decided against it, if for no other reason than out of respect for Serana.

"Found it!" Valkyrie handed the journal to her vampire companion.

"Let me see!" Serana said as she feverishly looked through the pages. "Yep. She definitely ventured into the Soul Cairn, and that thing on the floor was her portal."

"So how are we going to get there?"

"Hang on. There should be a list of ingredients here somewhere... Yeah, here it is. Let's see... we'll need some soul gem shards, a bit of finely ground bone meal, some purified void salts, and... Gods damn it!"

"What is it?"

"We're also going to need a sample of her blood. And if we could get our hands on that, we wouldn't have gone on this lovely field trip in the first place."

Valkyrie thought for a moment...

"You share her blood."

Serana smiled. "Not bad. Let's hope it works. Mistakes with these kinds of portals can be... messy"

In no time at all, the two had found the ingredients and placed them in a vial that was just adjacent to the alleged portal. Valerica had made sure to keep a supply of them preserved in case she tried to get back. The only thing left was Serana's blood.

"Let's get this over with..." she said.

"Hey, before we do this, can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What's up?"

"What will you do if we find your mother?"

Serana hung her head, not having much of an answer. "I've been asking myself that question ever since we came back to the castle. I... I don't know."

Valkyrie placed a hand on Serana's shoulder. "Whatever happens, I'm with you."

"And I'm glad." Serana said with a grin. "Now let's get this portal open."

Serana stood over the vial and pulled out her dagger. Valkyrie thought it was odd that Serana even had a dagger, because with all the fighting they'd done together, Serana had always seemed to use her magic. Maybe it was just a last resort, in case her magicka was low and an enemy was getting in close. But these questions would have to be answered later, as Serana took a quick slice at her wrist, and let a few drops of blood fall into the vial.

"By the blood of my ancestors..."

Almost immediately, the portal began to glow a strange, bright purple that Valkyrie had never seen the likes of, and slowly but surely, the tiles descended into almost a staircase, revealing the cold stare of Oblivion. Valerica had done it. Serana looked at Valkyrie with pride in her eyes, and motioned for her to be the one to go in first. Valkyrie took a few steps down into the Cairn, but suddenly, she felt an agonizing pain that forced her to go back up. She fell down on her butt, and Serana rushed over to help her.

"Are you alright? Thaf looked painful."

"It was. What happened?"

Serana apologized and explained that she should have seen it coming. The Soul Cairn was... hungry, for lack of a better word. And it was trying to take Valkyrie's life essence as payment. Valkyrie felt a bit defeated. All this work they had gone through, only to be slapped in the face with no way to go forward.

"Well, I could... soul trap you." Serana said.

"What? Why?"

"Just partially. I'll offer up the soul and we'll be able to enter with no problems. Except... you'd be a bit weaker when we actually go in."

"How weak are we talking?"

"Not enough of a difference for you to notice, I'm sure."

"That doesn't sound very appealing."

"Well, there is another option, but you'll like this one even less..."

"What is it?" Valkyrie didn't like where this was going.

"Well, undead don't count as payment. I could... turn you." 


	23. Chapter 18A

"You can't be suggesting this."

Valkyrie was shocked that Serana would even think of asking her to become a vampire, one of the very things she had sworn to root out and destroy. Just because one vampire had earned her trust did not mean she was willing to throw caution to the wind and become one.

"I'm sorry. If there was another way, you know I'd do it."

She knew Serana was telling the truth. But even still, neither option seemed weighted in Valkyrie's favor. On one hand, being soul trapped would make her weak, and she wouldn't fare as well in the Soul Cairn. On the other hand, becoming a vampire, a Volkihar no less, would make her significantly more powerful, but Isran and the rest of the Dawnguard would go ballistic. She could just wait up here and have Serana go in alone... No. That was not an option. She knew Serana may not survive in there alone, so their onky choice was to go in together. But this decision was still tearing at Valkyrie's brain.

"Soul trap me. I wouldn't feel right as a vampire." She said after another moment of thought.

"I understand." Serana replied, readying her magic. "I'll try and make this as painless as I can."

As soon as she was hit with the Soul Trap spell, Valkyrie's entire body began to sting. She grunted in pain, hoping that once she entered the Cairn, this feeling would go away.

"Are you alright?" Serana asked, worried.

"I'll live." Valkyrie replied dryly. "Let's go."

Valkyrie took her steps down the staircase, into the bowels of Oblivion, but was not prepared for the horrors within...

The Soul Cairn was, in every sense of the word, a wasteland. As far as Valkyrie's eyes could see, there was nothing but desolate land, incapable of growing any sort of vegetation. The sky, an eerie purple, contained a gaping black hole in the center, suggesting that whatever went on down here, she and her companion would be watched. And as Valkyrie continued to descend the stairs, she saw... ghosts. They weren't ghosts, actually, but the poor unfortunate souls who had been trapped here. Valkyried sensed misery, suffering, and agony were all that could be felt here.

Serana better know how to get my soul back, she thought silently.

"This place is... awful." Valkyrie said in shock. "Why on Nirn would your mother want to hide here?"

"I don't know. Hopefully we'll know when we find her."

The problem was, they didn't even know which direction to go. The Soul Cairn, being a plane of Oblivion, went on forever. They could spend decades searching and still never find Valerica. It seemed a fool's errand, but Valkyrie was not about to let all she and Serana had been through be for nothing. She made sure thay she had a sufficient supply of bolts for her crossbow, checked the sharpness on her dagger, then, with Serana at her side, ventured into the cold, unforgiving realm of Oblivion, knowing they may never return...

They had been walking for maybe ten minutes, when at least ten skeletons ripped their way out of the ground beneath their feet. Valkyrie nearly fell to the ground from shock, but quickly composed herself and let a bolt fly from her crossbow. Only it didn't even seem to slow the skeleton down. She fired another. Nothing. Now the skeleton was mere feet away from her, so she grabbed her dagger, and began dodging and ducking between the boneman's blade, as she'd done so many times before. She took a swing of her own dagger, but the skeleton caught her, holding her arm firmly in place. It lifted its sword, and for a moment, Valkyrie felt nothing but terror at the thought of losing her arm.

A well-placed lightning bolt from Serana finally took the monster down. Valkyrie breathed a sigh of relief, and as she turned around, she was surprised to see that Serana had already taken out six of the original ten. How was this possible? Then she noticed something. These skeletons had... hearts. Actual, beating hearts contained within their rib cages. She guessed they must be the key, as she drew her dagger once more and jumped in to help her friend finish off the rest of them.

Within no time, the two had killed off the remaining skeletons, or bonemen, as they were called here, and were once again left alone in the unforgiving abyss that was the Soul Cairn. Valkyrie wanted nothing more than to turn back and get out of this place, but then she noticed a massive fortress off in the distance. As good a place as any to hide out in, she thought. They made their way up to what appeared to be the front entrance, but there was a giant wall of energy surrounding the fortress. It was impossible to breach, but was also see-through. Valkyrie noticed an alchemy lab near the main door, and tending to it, a woman. A woman who was wearing the same type of Volkihar robes that Serana was dressed in. There was no question. It must be...

"Mother?" Serana exclaimed, delighted yet extremely nervous about coming face-to-face with her mother.

Valerica turned to face them, with a look on her face as though she'd seen a ghost.

"Serana?! What are you doing here?"

"Is there any way to bring this wall down? We need to talk."

Valerica was about to respond, when she noticed Valkyrie. The vampire's eyes grew as wide as the heavens.

"Hold on. You brought a STRANGER here? Have you lost your mind?!"

"No, mother, it-"

"You. Step forward." Valerica demanded, cutting Serana off.

Valkyrie complied. It was just now that she was able to get a good look at Valerica. She was surprised, as Serana hardly looked anything like her. Whereas Serana had a certain girlish allure to her, Valerica was much colder and far more unforgiving.

"So how has it come to pass that my daughter has ended up in the company of a VAMPIRE HUNTER?" said Valerica, obviously recognizing Valkyrie's armor. "It pains me to think that you would act under the guise of her protector just to hunt me down."

"No, Valerica, it's not like that. We've been working together to stop Harkon from completing his prophecy."

"Hah! And what would you know about the prophecy?"

"Not much. But I do know that he's going to try and extinguish the sun. And I won't let that happen?"

"Then perhaps you would mind telling me how exactly you're going to stop him?"

"That's why we're here for the Elder Scroll."

As if it was even possible, Valerica's face became even more hostile, and Valkyrie knew she'd fucked up. She was sure Valerica was going to try and kill her, or would if the wall wasn't here.

"You think I'd have the audacity to place my own daughter in that tomb for the protection of just her Scroll? No, the real key the prophecy is Serana herself."

"What do you mean?"

Valerica explained. Even with Auriel's Bow, which was apparently drew its power from the sun, Harkon would still have no ability to block out the sun. He would have gone through all the work they were doing, just to be where he started, only with an incredibly powerful bow. What Valkyrie hadn't known, however, was that the bow could be... corrupted. All that was needed would be the blood of a Daughter Of Coldharbour. Coldharbour, apparently, was the plane of Oblivion ruled over by Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince that had originally granted Serana and her family the "gift" of pure-blooded vampirism. It all made sense now. Valkyrie felt nothing but horror and guilt. All this time, she had believe herself to be keeping Serana and the rest of Tamriel safe, she now knew she had been leading them like lambs to the slaughter all along...

"So... you think Harkon means to... kill Serana?"

"Yes. And now you know why you were both fools to come here. How do you intend to keep Serana safe from Harkon once one of you actually has Auriel's Bow?"

Valkyrie gritted her teeth, her guilt turning to anger. "I'll kill Harkon before he lays his hands on Serana."

Valkyrie smirked and shook her head. "If you believe that, you're an even bigger fool than I thought. What makes you think you think you could possibly stand a chance against him?"

"Simple. I'll have Auriel's Bow."

"Enough!" Serana butted in. "You two could argue back and forth for the rest of eternity and we still wouldn't be any closer to stopping my father!"

"I had a plan to stop him! And it would have succeeded if this foolish mortal hadn't mucked everything up and released you!"

Valkyrie was shocked that Valerica would say something like that to her own daughter. She looked over, and Serana's anger seemed to be boiling over.

"Give me one good reason why I should entrust you to this stranger? Someone who's obviously dedicated herself to hunting down our kind?" That was the final straw for Serana.

"This stranger has done more for me in the short time I've known her than you've done in centuries!" Serana spat back.

Serana let it all out right there, and Valkyrie just took a step back. She listened as her vampiric companion lashed out at her mother, releasing all the anger, pain, and frustration she had held pent up on her. Serana talked about how instead of asking her what she thought was the best course of action, Valerica had simply assumed Serana would agree to her plan. That instead of asking her, Valerica had shut her away from everything she cared about without a second thought. Serana concluded that Valerica was no better than Harkon in some ways. He was obsessed with power, she was obsessed with seeing him fail. Their motivatons may have been different, but in the end, they were both focused on her their own paths, and treated Serana like a pawn instead of a daughter.

"Serana, I..." Valerica spoke after a lengthy silence, trying to find her words. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You're right. I was so intent on making sure Harkon never completed the prophecy, I didn't stop to think how it may affect you. If you want the Elder Scroll, it's yours."

Valerica turned back to Valkyrie.

"Your intentions are still somewhat unclear to me. But Serana trusts you, so I trust you."

"Thank you." Valkyrie said. "Do you know how to bring down this wall?"

"The Boneyard Keepers..." 


	24. Chapter 18B

The Boneyard Keepers were incerdibly powerful souls who had been sent to the Soul Cairn long ago, as Valerica had explained. Because of their extraordinary power, and their obvious superiority to the other souls in this wasteland, the Ideal Masters had granted them the title of Keepers, and tasked them with watching over the souls that entered their realm. But the Ideal Masters also stripped away their minds, making them almost braindead, and prone to unquestioning obedience.

As if dealing with the Keepers wasn't enough, Valerica had warned Valkyrie and Serana that a dragon named Durnehviir also roamed over the Soul Cairn in service to the Ideal Masters. Valkyrie silently prayed to the Divines that she wouldn't run into the beast. The only thing Valkyrie knew about dragons were the old Nordic legends she had heard growing up. Dragons, although being magnificent creatures, were also vicious and dominating. Valkyrie doubted that even she, Serana, and Valerica together would be able to defeat one. But there was no time to worry about that now, as they were approaching the first Keeper.

The soul before them was at least seven feet tall. It was wearing an armor that looked as though it was made of bones, but were unlike any bones Valkyrie had ever seen before. And, to only add to its intimidating prescence, the monster had no head, only a thick cloud of black smoke.

The Keeper drew his weapon, a huge mace that also looked to be made of bones, and charged at the two heroines. Valkyrie and Serana jumped out of the monster's way in opposite directions, then proceeded to shower their foe in a hailstorm of spells and crossbow bolts. These at least seemed to slow the Keeper down, but he was far from defeated. The monster swung his mace at the ground, with such power and ferocity that the ground itself trembled, knocking both Valkyrie and Serana off their feet.

Before Valkyrie could get back up, the beast was already standing over her with his mace in mid-swing coming down directly at her torso. She quickly rolled out of the way, the mace missing her by less than an inch. The resulting shockwave cause her to be lifted off the ground, allowing Valkyrie to be back on her feet, readying her crossbow once more. Serana had already made it back to her feet, and had not stopped firing off ice spikes and lightning bolts at the Keeper ever since. They appeared to actually be hurting the beast, who promptly turned around and swung his mace full force at Serana's frame.

Valkyrie nearly shrieked as she was sure there was no way anyone could dodge that, but she forgot that vampirism heightened one's reflexes enormously. Serana bent backwards, the mace going over her and hitting nothing but thin air. She erected herself back up and continued her barrage on the beast, who looked as though it was getting weaker. The Keeper slumped down onto one knee, as Valkyrie drew her dagger and plunged it into the cloud of smoke where the monster's head should have been. It felt as though her dagger were actually penetrating someone's skull, but she saw only the smoke. The Keeper let out an inhuman cry before being reduced to a pile of ashes.

"Well, that's one down." Valkyrie said. "You alright?"

"Just dandy." Serana replied flatly. It was clear talking to her mother had upset her, despite how hard she was trying to conceal it.

"So... how are you feeling after talking to Valerica?" Valkyrie asked, trying to help Serana let go of whatever anger she hadn't already taken out on her mother.

"I... I don't know." Serana replied. "Part of me is relieved. You have no idea how long all that had been building up, so I guess it felt good to get it off my chest. But... another part is still angry and hurt. It took me up until now to realize that my mother was just as bad as my father."

Valkyrie put her hand on Serana's shoulder, trying to offer her some comfort.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"I will be. I just need some time."

Valkyrie responded by moving closer to Serana and throwing her arms around her. She hugged the vampire as tightly as she possibly could, hoping to choke out the anguish, the sadness that her friend was still feeling.

"Thanks, Valkyrie."

The two remained silent, locked in their embrace for a few moments, although it felt like much longer. Valkyrie pulled her head away from Serana's shoulder and found herself in the all-too-familiar place. She and Serana, staring deeply into each other's eyes as though they were made of precious diamonds, and it wasn't long before their lips met once again.

Only this time, Valkyrie was the one who initiated the kiss. She hadn't even thought about it, she had just done what felt natural to her. Serana was surprised, but also delighted that she was finally getting to Valkyrie.

After a time, the two finally broke the kiss. The air around them was completely silent, silence that quickly began to feel a bit awkward.

"Umm... I guess we should... go find those other Keepers." Valkyrie said quickly, trying not to blush.

"I agree." Serana replied, as the two finally let go of each other.

The last two Boneyard Keepers proved easy enough to defeat, as Valkyrie had discovered with the first one that the secret to bringing them down was the thick smoke where their heads should have been. She and Serana made short work of them, although traveling all over the Soul Cairn was making her extremely tired. She was used to traveling with Serana for extended periods of time, but this was more than simple fatigue. It must have had something to do with the partial Soul Trap. She could only hope Valerica knew how to reverse the effects.

The fate of her soul wasn't the only thing on Valkyrie's mind either. She kept thinking about Serana, about the kiss. Was she right to have moved in on the vampire while she was distressed? Sure, it was obvious Serana wanted her. She had already made two unsuccessful attempts to get inside Valkyrie's loins. But she couldn't help feeling a bit guilty. She felt as though she had taken advantage of Serana, but finally decided she was overthinking it. These thoughts could wait until later, however, as they were finally coming up on Valerica's fortress, which was now devoid of any magical barriers.

"You destroyed all three Keepers? Very impressive." Valerica said as the two arrived at the doors. "Come on. I'll take you to the Scroll."

Valerica led Valkyrie and Serana through the doors of the fortress. Valkyrie was expecting the inside to be a large, decorative hall like Castle Volkihar, but it turned out there was no inside. Beyond the doors, there was only a massive courtyard littered with skeletal remains. Valerica appeared to have another alchemy setup in one of the corners. But before they could retrieve the Scroll, the air filled with the sound of a roar. A vicious, bloodthirsty roar that no human, vampire, or boneman could make. Valkyrie readied her crossbow, wondering what on Nirn it could be this time, before Valerica exclaimed...

"Durnehviir!" 


	25. Chapter 18C

No sooner had Valerica said the name, than was the sky above the courtyard filled with disgusting sight of an enormous winged beast. This was a dragon? The creatures of legend? The monster looked as though it had died, but stopped rotting halfway through the process. Its scaly hide was covered by some foul slimy substance that nearly made Valkyrie puke. Thankfully, however, it didn't seem to give off any sort of smell. Durnehviir landed atop one of the walls of the fortress and simply yelled out three words. Valkyrie couldn't make out what the beast was saying, but once he finished, at least a dozen bonemen ripped their way out of the ground.

Serana and Valerica focused on the skeletons, which left Valkyrie to contend with the dragon. It was suicide, obviously, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Valkyrie let a bolt fly from her crossbow, but it bounced off the beast, barely even leaving a dent in the skin. Durnehviir swooped down, his claws intent at ripping Valkyrie apart, but she managed to jump out of the way before he reached her. The dragon stopped, and while flapping his wings to stay afloat uttered another three words.

"YOL TOAR SHUL!"

The next thing Valkyrie saw was a ray of fire coming in her direction. She tried to jump out the way once more, but this time, she wasn't fast enough, and the flames singed the back of her armor, as well as her own back.

Valkyrie fell to the ground and shrieked in pain. Instinct told her to use her Restoration magic, but before she could manage to get her magicka flowing, a boneman was standing abover her, ready to hack her to pieces with its sword. Before it could manage that, however, a well-placed lightning bolt from Serana blew the skeleton to pieces. Valkyrie couldn't help but laugh. The vampire had saved her sorry hide once again.

Valkyrie quickly healed herself with a bit of Restoration, feeling the burn marks disappear from her back. She got to her feet, and the dragon landed directly in front of her. The beast let out another roar, trying to intimidate his prey, but Valkyrie's fury was boiling over. She grabbed the blade left in the remains of the boneman, and proceeded to charge at Durnehviir head on. Before the beast could react, she swung the blade right at his snout, cutting deeply into the skin. But she wasn't done there. Valkyrie proceeded to jump on the monster's head, stabbing into his skull countless times. The dragon let out several more roars, but these were born of pain, of agony, rather than anger or intimidation.

Valkyrie made one final stab, one that pierced the monster's head, and made its way down through the roof of his mouth. The dragon was silenced, permanently.

She got off Durnehviir's motionless corpse, recieving astonished, yet admiring stares from Serana and Valerica. Valkyrie smiled herself. After all, what wasn't there to be proud of? She had just slain a dragon, a creature of legend. Anyone who could also claim that they had done this were long dead. She smiled, but her smile quickly vanished under a sea of bewilderment, as the dragon's body caught fire. This wasn't ordinary fire, though. It was purple. The flames seemed to burn as bright as the sun, although they were only visible for a moment. When the flames were gone, so was Durnehviir's body.

"Forgive my astonishment," Valerica said. "But I never thought I'd see the death of that acursed dragon."

"What do you mean?" Valkyrie questioned.

"Tomes written on Durnehviir suggest that he can't be slain by normal means. It appears they were wrong. Unless..." Valerica's eyes grew wide.

"It's possible your killing blow has only displaced Durnehviir's physical form, and he is reconstituting himself as we speak."

"How long will that take?" Valkyrie asked, worried. She wasn't sure if she could take down the beast a second time.

"Who can say? It could take minutes, or years. All that matters is that we get you the Elder Scroll."

The three rushed over to Valerica's makeshift laboratory. It was very much like the one she had seen back in Castle Volkihar, but a bit lacking as far as supplies went. There was a large case on one of the shelves, which Valerica opened, revealing her Elder Scroll. Valkyrie marveled at it. They were almost done.

"Now then, you two should be on your way." Valerica said as Valkyrie tied the Scroll to her back, in the same fashion Serana had had hers when they first met.

"Are you not coming with us? We could use your help in Tamriel." Valkyrie responded.

"I can't." Valerica said. "Harkon would likely sense my return, and two Daughters of Coldharbour in Tamriel would only double his chances of completing the prophecy. I can't risk it."

"I understand. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to Serana."

"You'd better not. She's all I have left."

"One last question. Dou know how to get my soul back?"

"Ah. It seems Serana has put a few of my own tricks to use."

All that was needed to reclaim her soul was a simple counterspell. Valerica cast it, and Valkyrie immediately felt her strength return. She thanked Valerica, and she and Serana made their way out of the courtyard. Serana had been silent ever since they had slain Durnehviir. It was obvious something was troubling her.

"What's wrong?" Valkyrie said

"Getting rid of one problem just creates a new one."

"What do you mean?"

"I've made peace with my mother, and forgiven her for what she did to me. But... after what she said about my father, about needing my blood for the prophecy..."

"We're going to have to kill him, aren't we?"

"I've been trying to make my peace with it. I mean sure, he's a power-crazy, homicidally insane tyrant, but... he's still my father."

"I'm sorry. I know this can't be easy for you."

"Don't worry. I've got you with me, so I'm sure everything will turn out alright."

Valkyrie smiled, and the two continued walking. They were not yet out of the fortress, and as such, were unprepared for what was waiting for them on the outside...

Durnehviir

Valkyrie quickly readied her crossbow, and Serana her magic, when the beast's booming voice filled the air.

"Stay your weapons. I simply wish to speak with you."

The two complied, however Valkyrie was still a bit cautious.

"Didn't you just try to kill us?"

"The hostility was necessary. I was bound to an oath."

"An oath?"

Durnehviir explained his story. Long ago, when dragons were still present on Nirn, they would constantly battle each other, acting on a sense of honor and pride that was not unsimilar to Valkyrie and her fellow Nords. Durnehviir was part of this, of course, but he sought ways outside the norm to maintain his superiority. True, he was a fierce warrior, but he decided that he needed others to follow him. And so, the dragon turned to necromancy. He attempted many times to gather a grouo of undead, but failed many times. As a last resort, he turned to the Ideal Masters, who promised him unrivaled power. He would be able to raise armies of the undead, and in return, he was required only to serve in the Soul Cairn as a Keeper until Valerica's death. He was not informed that she was a vampire, and therefore immortal.

"I learned too late that the Ideal Masters favor trickery and deception over honor. They had control of my mind, but they could not posess my soul."

"Is that why you're free now?"

"Free? No. I have been here too long, it seems. I share a bond with this dreaded place. However, this is part of this reason I wished to converse with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Firstly, my battle with you was the first time anyone, mortal or dovah, has ever bested me. I therefore honor-name you Quanarihn, or Vanquisher in your tongue."

Valkyrie felt a great deal of pride wash over her, as it showed in her smile.

"Thank you. I found you equally worthy."

"Your words do me great honor, Quanarihn. Secondly, however, I wish to respectfully ask a favor of you."

"A favor?"

"I have roamed the Soul Cairn for countless years. I long to once again fly the skies of Kaezaal, of Tamriel. But if I were to leave the Soul Cairn for long, my strength would begin to wane until I was no more."

"So what can I do?"

"I grant you the right to call my name from Tamriel. I do not require an answer, Quanarihn. I simply hope that you will allow me the precious moments of time there through your call."

The dragon bowed its head to Valkyrie, before flapping its wings and flying off into the cold abyss.

"Well, that was odd." 


	26. Chapter 19

Valkyrie burst through the front doors of Fort Dawnguard, Elder Scroll in hand and Serana in tow. They had done it. They had found the Moth Priest, ventured into the realms of Oblivion and returned to tell about it, and now they were finally going to reveal the last piece of this damn prophecy. Valkyrie couldn't help but feel a great sense of accomplishment. They were so close to getting their hands on Auriel's Bow, she could almost feel it in her hands already.

Valkyrie rushed right past a startled Durak and headed straight to the kitchen, where Dexion spent most of his time. Sure enough, he was sitting as his own table facing the wall.

"Dexion! We've got the Scroll!"

Dexion turned around. And Valkyrie felt her stomach drop.

"I'm afraid I can no longer be of help with that, Valkyrie."

Dexion had bandages draped over his eyes. He was blind.

"What happened?"

"It's my fault. In my haste to read the first Elder Scroll, I neglected the time I needed to prepare. As a result, I've gone blind."

Valkyrie felt a number of emotions flood her at that moment. There was sadness, that they had been so close to obtaining Auriel's Bow, only to have it ripped from their grasp once more. There was pity for poor Dexion and his loss of sight, even though it was a fate doomed to all Moth Priests. But one feeling was more prevalent than the rest. Anger. Valkyrie felt as though the Gods were laughing, as though fate was having a field day, slapping her in the face at every turn. She felt her hand ball up into a fist, before colliding it into the nearest wall.

"Gods damn it!" She screamed.

Nobody dared say anything, not even Serana. Valkyrie steamed for a moment or two before Dexion spoke up again.

"I realize you must be frustrated, but... perhaps there is another way."

"What are you talking about?"

Another lesson in Moth Priest mythology. Dexion talked about a ritual, one that every Moth Priest was taught as part of their training, but very few actually got the chance to perform. He believed that somewhere, deep in the Pine Forest of Skyrim, there was an ancient, secluded location known as an Ancestor Glade. And in this Glade, there grew an ancient tree, known as a Canticle Tree. Valkyrie would need to carefully extract the bark from the tree, then 'wait for the ancestral hum' as Dexion put it. Valkyrie hardly understood a word of what the man was saying, but politely thanked him for his dedication, before storming out of the room in a huff.

She paced back and forth through the main hall. More? MORE?! She was sure of it now, the Gods were laughing at her. Fate was so cruel, allowing her the faintest glimmer of hope that they may finally stop this insane prophecy, only to put it just beyond her grasp not long after.

What was wrong? What did she need to do so that fate, the sick bastard that it was, would stop tormenting her so? Soon, however, a feeling began to replace her rage. She recognized it as determination. She knew that she and Serana would have the last laugh. The images in her mind brought a smile to her face. Thoughts of her clutching Auriel's Bow in her palm. Of the prophecy being no more. Of her sending an arrow right into Harkon's unbeating heart.

Harkon. She was going to enjoy making the monster suffer. More thoughts entered her head, each more gruesome than the next, of how she was going to end him. She was going to take her time, make him hurt, make him suffer. She was going to leave him broken and mangled at her feet, defenseless and begging for mercy. And then she would tell him. Who she was, who her family was, how he'd had this coming for over a decade. And as the horror of realization came over him, she would thrust her dagger into his throat, savoring the kill as the light left his eyes.

But then a new image came to mind.

Serana...

Even though they had agreed Harkon was an out-of-control, tyrannical madman, and that he needed to die, Serana still wouldn't take very kindly to her father being humiliated on his way to Coldharbour. Even after all he had done to her. That truly said something about Serana, and her sense of compassion. There was no other way to cut it, Harkon would have to be ended cleanly 


	27. Chapter 20

Hours passed, night fell, and once again, Valkyrie found herself sitting alone in the comfort of her own private quarters. The others had left her alone for the remainder of the evening, probably agreeing amongst themselves that she was, at that moment, a beast that could not be tamed. The thought of it made her laugh. She thought of big, brutish, muscle-headed Gunmar, cowering before her as though she were Durnehviir. Of Amgaer pissing himself like he almost did the first day they met. Of Florentius dropping to his knees and having a plea contest with Arkay. And as these thoughts entered her mind, she simply began to laugh harder.

After a few moments, however, she calmed down. Valkyrie's own room had seen its fair share of new decorations in the passing months. On the nightstand beside her bed, she now kept a shrine to Akatosh. Valkyrie had never been very religious, but keeping the shrine around, putting out the occasional prayer to The Great Dragon made her feel... blessed. As though she were truly in the favor of a Divine.

On her wall, there was picture. It was an enlarged version of the portrait of her family. The one taken before she had been born. Skjalund, his hair no longer white, but a color of blonde that very much resembled that of honey, and looking happier than she had ever seen him while he was alive. Gronmir, who couldn't have been older than six when this was painted, looked like a typical obnoxious Nord at that age. And of course, her mother. It hadn't been until recently when she realized it, but Valkyrie was the spitting image of her deceased mother. They both had the same round, Nordic features, the same colorless eyes that evoked any number of emotions from their beholders, and, if Valkyrie hadn't changed it when she was sixteen, they would have had the same flowing, golden hair. And just then, she realized, she had never even found out her mother's name.

And of course, in the corner, directly across from the bed, was a simple table with two chairs. Valkyrie had this put in here in case a certain vampire decided to take a nighttime stroll. After all, she knew what usually followed when they had conversations on her bed...

As if on cue, Valkyrie heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said.

In walked Serana. Of course, who else could it be? Valkyrie silently thanked the Gods that she wasn't wearing that nightgown this time. Otherwise Valkyrie may very well have laid down and begged to be ravaged.

"Hey." Serana said coolly as she leaned up against the wall.

"Hey." Valkyrie responded. "I guess you wanted to 'talk' again?" That last comment made Serana blush and Valkyrie smile.

"Well, yes." Serana said after regaining her composure. "Something occured to me a little while ago."

"And what would that be?"

"Well," Serana started before pausing a moment. "I just thought it was a bit wierd how... you know, through this whole ordeal, I've told you just about everything I can about myself. But... I really don't know that much about you."

Valkyrie responded by sitting down at her table. "Then pull up a chair. I'm willing to submit to a full interrogation."

The two sat at the table and talked for hours, although they seemed to pass by in a matter of moments. Serana already knew a few things about Valkyrie, about the Karthwasten attack, and about how she grew up with Moth and Ghorza. Valkyrie talked, and Serana would listen. She told her stories of her childhood in Markarth. About Ghorza teaching her to smith. About hunting along the roads outside of the city. About the look on Raeorek's face when Bothella had her deliver his "special potion." That one made both of them laugh.

Valkyrie talked about her biological family as well. However, this was a bit more difficult, because Gronmir and Skjalund had never been very cheerful people as long as Valkyrie had known them. Most of what she knew about them being happy and carefree, she picked up from the miners in Karthwasten. But she did her best to thrill Serana with the tales of their supposed happiness. It seemed to be working.

"Well," Serana said after a brief silence. "Both your families sound lovely."

"Maybe once all this is over, you can come meet one of them?"

"I would love that."

The two smiled at each other, and, as though by habit, found their way into staring into one another's eyes. Valkyrie should have known this would happen, but right now, she was too lost in the bright amber hue of Serana's eyes to care. This time, however, Serana broke the eye contact before either of them got too worked up.

"So," Serana said calmly, leaning back in her chair. "I guess since I essentially know your life story, now we'll get down to the really basic stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"What's your favorite color?"

Valkyrie almost burst out laughing. At the absurdity of Serana's question, and also the innocent look she was putting on her face that suggested she was actually interested in something so trivial.

"Oddly enough, black."

"Excellent choice. What about food?"

"Diced horker loaf."

"Song?"

"Ragnar the Red." Valkyrie chuckled. "Anything else?"

Serana thought for a moment, before giving off a devilish grin that Valkyrie knew meant she had foul intentions. "Yes, actually. Wait here for a minute."

Serana left the room, and Valkyrie was preparing herself for what was coming. Sure enough, when Serana returned, she was clad in nothing but that nightgown. That sweet, revealing nightgown that made Valkyrie go off the deep end with lust. It was all she could do to stay in her chair and not pounce on the gorgeous vampire in front of her.

Serana sat down directly across from Valkyrie.

"One last question." The vampire said with a devious grin. "I want you to tell me exactly what runs through your pretty little head when you see me in this gown."

Valkyrie felt the sweat start to run down the back of her neck. There was no escaping this time. And yet... she felt calmer, more in control of herself than the previous times Serana had tried to seduce her. And with self-control, came the waggling of her tongue.

"How about I show you instead?" Valkyrie responded with her own wicked smile.

"That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say."

Within no time, the two women had found their way onto Valkyrie's bed, with Serana once again assuming the dominant position on top, and Valkyrie content to lie there and be ravaged. Their mouths met one another, lips wet with saliva, as the exchange of passion between them grew heated. Before too long, their tongues found their way into the mix, gliding over each other as they they were two sea waves in a lightning storm.

As the kisses continued, Serana's hand once again found its way into Valkyrie's nether-regions. As predicted, her trousers were soaked. Serana kept her hand busy, rubbing it across the wet spot just hard enough so she could make Valkyrie shiver, and just gently enough to not get the Nord too excited. After all, she wanted to take her time.

All the while, Valkyrie had just laid there like a good little submissive partner, prepared for whatever Serana was about to throw her way. In between battles with Serana's tongue and lips, she made no hesitation to let out little whimpers or moans, suggesting to Serana that she was loving this with every bone and fiber in her body. As time went by, they got progressively louder, until they were almost at shouting level.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not that kind of shout

She didn't care. If anyone were to barge in on this exchange between the two of them, she would probably just flip them the finger and let them watch.

Finally, Serana put her other hand to use, sliding it up the inside of Valkyrie's shirt, eventually finding its way to her breasts. She hadn't noticed until now, but Valkyrie was quite well-endowed. Definitely more so than she was. Serana maneuvered her hand, gently caressing and massaging Valkyrie's breasts, all while she kept her other hand busy with her crotch, and their mouths entangled in one another.

After a few moments of this, Serana removed her hands from Valkyrie's extremities, and grabbed at the fabric of her nightshirt. Valkyrie sensed she was about to remove it, and that the fun would REALLY begin. But before Serana even attempted to remove it, she let off that devilish grin of hers, and promptly lifted herself off of Valkyrie, off of the bed, and made a beeline for the door.

It took Valkyrie a moment to comprehend what was happening.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I think I'm done for tonight." The vampire replied playfully, still looking ahead at the door.

"Wait a second," Valkyrie sat up in her bed. "You're going to expend all that time and effort getting me so worked up, and then just stop?!"

Serana turned around. The wicked smile that had adorned her face mere moments ago was now replaced by the most innocent, childlike grin Valkyrie had ever seen.

"Doesn't feel too good, does it?" 


	28. Chapter 21

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, here it is. A really short chapter that I made you all wait way too long for. I know I've been slipping quite a bit lately, but as I said before, I'm fucking busy. For one thing, I'm about to graduate high school, which is a big deal by itself, but I also have exams to study for, and tons of other extra-curricular bullshit that needs doing. But enough of me blabbering, here's the next chapter!

"It's not very impressive, is it?" Serana said with a frown.

The vampire was right. Valkyrie had expected this 'Ancestor Glade' to be a wonderous sight, full of life and beauty, but instead was greeted only by the sight of a simple cave, one that was even darker and gloomier than most. Of all the places the Ancestor Moths could have chosen to live, why on Nirn would they choose here?

"I swear," Serana added as the two began to make their way into the cave, "If this ends up being a wasted trip, your friend Dexion and I are going to have some words when we get back."

Valkyrie just laughed. She certainly hoped it wouldn't be a wasted trip, not just for the sake of Auriel's Bow, but for her and Serana's own mental well-being. All the setbacks, all the mistakes, all the wrongdoings could really take a toll on a person's psyche. The two moved further into the cave, into what appeared to be a tunnel. As they stepped through, Valkyrie no longer needed to worry about her psyche.

They were standing at the entrance of a massive cavern, but this one was absolutely beautiful. There were waterfalls, vegetation, small animals, and a hole in the top which allowed a ray of sunlight to grace the place. Down in the very center of the cavern, were what appeared to be the Canticle Trees that Dexion had spoken of. They were gorgeous, limbs extending only to be about as tall as a person, their bark a shade of burgundy she had only seen once before on her hunting trips in The Reach.

"Wow. It's... beautiful." Serana said, awestruck.

"I think that's the understatement of the century." Valkyrie replied, not taking her eyes off the cavern, lest she might not be able to take in its beauty longer.

"It looks like no one's been here in centuries." Serana added as she began to step forward slowly. "I don't think there's any other place like it in Skyrim."

Valkyrie forced herself to walk alongside Serana, even if it meant not being to marvel at this wonderful place a bit longer. Her worries quickly vanished, though, as she glanced over at the vampire.

Valkyrie had always known that Serana was beautiful, and more recently, had found that if given the chance, would rip off her clothes at a moment's notice. But there was something different here. When she looked at Serana, she felt a strange sensation in her stomach, not unlike hunger, but too dissimilar. Her heart began to speed in tempo. Her breathing became heavier. Valkyrie could not exactly place what this sensation was, but all she knew was that she didn't ever want this vampire to leave her side.

The two reached the trees, and Valkyrie prepared herself for the ritual that Dexion had told her of. She was to use the draw knife that he had given her, and carefully extract a patch of bark from one of the Canticle Trees. Afterwards, she would needed to coat herself in the tree's sap, and wait for the Ancestor Moths to come to her.

"Gods, I feel disgusting." Valkyrie said after the ritual had been complete.

"To be honest, I think it's sexy." Serana said with a smirk. "You being all shiny like that."

"Hey now. This isn't really a good time for us to go at it." Valkyrie said, laughing, and also wondering whether Serana's comment had been born of sarcasm.

Within moments afterwards, huge swarms of Ancestor Moths began to surround Valkyrie. And, as Serana pointed out, she was beginning to glow. This went on for a few minutes, swarm after swarm surounding her, when she herself suddenly stopped glowing. Valkyrie didn't even have time to question if something had gone wrong before a blinding ray of light shot down right beside them.

"I guess that was what we were looking for." Serana said, squinting to protect her eyes.

"Do you still have the Scrolls?" Valkyrie asked as she began to step into the light.

Serana nodded and tossed the Elder Scrolls her way. Valkyrie took a deep breath, made a silent prayer to the Divines that she would come out of this unscathed, and opened the first Scroll. 


	29. Chapter 22

Was she blind?

No, surely not. After all, even though this light was enough to make a person lose their sight, it seemed... alive. As though it wanted something from her. Then, very slowly, the lught began to fade. Not to complete blackness, but just enough that Valkyrie could see... a vision. It was... a cave? Yes, a cave in the northeastern mountains of Skyrim. Valkyrie waited for a moment, trying to deduce the exact location of this cave, but to no avail. The light began to fade even further. She knew this cave. She had seen it all those years ago when Moth had taken her to Solitude. It was just north of Dragon Bridge.

Complete darkness. Valkyrie almost panicked, but her vision returned quickly, and with it, the sight of a beautiful vampire kneeling over her. She had fallen down, apparently.

"Are you alright? You went as white as the snow." Serana said with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she said as the vampire helped her up.

"Well? Do we know where Auriel's Bow is?"

"We do. It's in a cave, just north of Dragon Bridge."

Serana beamed. If only Valkyrie could just freeze that sight and watch it forever. But alas, more pressing matters awaited. Serana's smile vansihed under a wave of alertness.

"Do you hear that?"

Valkyrie heard nothing. She guessed Serana's heightened senses were picking up something she wasn't.

"Footsteps."

By the time the word had seperated itself from Serana's throat, the two found themselves swarmed by at least a dozen vampires, obviously Volkihars. Valkyrie was caught off guard and dropped her dagger, allowing one of the beasts to tackle her to the ground and make snaps at her neck with its his jaw. Valkyrie tried to push the monster off her, but he was much too strong. Serana was already entangled in a fight with three others, so it seemed there was no way out of it this time. Unless...

Vampires still had genitals, obviously. Valkyrie carefully positioned her knee, still keeping the vampire's mouth at bay with her hands. One quick upward strike of her knee left the bloodsucker gasping for air. Valkyrie took this oppurtunity to deliver a quick jab to the face. It connected right on the vampire's lower jaw, effectively knocking him off of her. She quickly got to her feet and put a bolt between his eyes.

With her crossbow back in hand, and with the help of Serana, they made short work of the remaining Volkihars.

"How did they know we were here?" Valkyrie asked out loud, not expecting an answer.

"I don't know" Serana said, before adding, "But I suggest we don't wait around to find out."

FOUR DAYS LATER...

"So this is Darkfall Cave? Not very impressive." Serana said.

"Don't jinx us. Last time you said something was unimpressive, it turned out being beautiful and we almost got killed by Volkihars."

The two laughed as they entered the cave, but quickly shook it off and prepared themselves for anything. Darkfall Cave was pitch black, the only thing Valkyrie could make out was the bright orange glow of Serana's eyes. They were even more hypnotic in the dark. But the mood was quickly broken.

"I think I have a way for us to see." Serana said as she focused her magicka in her palm.

Within moments, a bright light flew out of Serana's hand and circled above them. It was bright enough to see a good twenty feet in front of them, but not quite enough to damage their eyes. Valkyrie could only wonder why, out of all the places in Tamriel, a Divine would choose to storenhis artifact inside some moldy old cave in the middle of nowhere. Then again, it made a bit of sense, as no one would ever think to look there. But it also made her doubly cautious, as there was no telling what sort of monstrocities were standing between them and Auriel's Bow.

Valkyrie quickly forced these thoughts out of her head. It didn't do her good to think like that. She would much rather peek over at Serana, just to catch a glimpse of the vampire's face. Valkyrie still hadn't been able to work out what that strange sensation had been in her stomach back at the Ancestor Glade, but whatever it was, it seemed to be quite powerful.

"Hang on," Serana said, halting and snapping Valkyrie out of her haze.

"What is it?"

"There's a... a campfire?"

A campfire? Surely Serana was mistaken. This was a dirty, smelly cave in the middle of Skyrim. Unless someone was also looking for Auriel's Bow. But no, Valkyrie spotted a corpse right beside the fire. She found a note on the body of the dead Bretons, apparently adressed to her sister, warning her to leave the cave, that she had been attacked by trolls.

"Well, at least we know what's standing between us and the bow." Valkyrie said.

"Why on Nirn would someone want to set up camp here?" Serana said, dumbfounded.

Valkyrie simply shrugged, and the two decided to rest for a moment beside the fire. The cave was incredibly cold, after all. Serana opted to stand back a bit further from the flames. Being a vampire, they weren't exactly her best friend. Valkyrie's thoughts were mostly blank. She wanted to keep herself warm, and that was about it. Until she looked over at her vampire companion, who appeared to be dozing off. Valkyrie couldn't place it, but there was something about Serana's position that... excited her. Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself waking the vampire up with a passionate kiss.

"Well... aren't you... suddenly... in a... good mood." Serana said in between kisses.

"Shut up... and... kiss me." Valkyrie answered.

She was determined now. Neither of them were going to walk away this time. She was going to bed this vampire with every ounce of passion she had in her fiery Nord heart.

After only lips were present for a moment, Serana introduced her tongue to the mix, sending waves of desire down Valkyrie's throat, through her stomach, and into her most delicate regions. Valkyrie did the same. The two sat there for the longest of moments, lips meeting and parting, tongues gliding over one another as though they were two waves in the ocean, a small amount of saliva being swapped between two mouths. After a minute or two, Valkyrie felt Serana shiver, but could sense no sign of her backing down. A good sign.

Serana quickly pushed Valkyrie onto the ground, once again assuming the dominant role in the exchange, as she continued her assault on Valkyrie's mouth. It was wonderful. They had barely even started, and already Valkyrie was wondering if she had died and gone to Sovngarde. It made her anxious for what was to come, but also forced her to keep a measure of restraint, to savor what was happening, to truly cherish it, and make it last as long as possible.

She felt the vampire's hands on her breasts. They were not underneath her shirt, as they had been the previous time this had happened, but it still felt wonderful feeling Serana's touch. The vampire's hands gently massaged and caressed her breasts, as though they were delicate rolls of bread, and all the while, keeping up the passionate exchange between their lips.

Serana removed a hand from one of Valkyrie's breasts, and slid it down onto her crotch. Valkyrie still had her armor on, but just the slight feeling of Serana's hand on her delicacies made the Nord let out a small whimper. This only made Serana work her hand faster. Little by little, she was working the Valkyrie up, waiting for her to scream. All it would take was one little scream, and she would know her job was done. Not that she would stop of course. This Nord was far too sexy to be left alone after one orgasm, especially if their clothes hadn't even been removed yet. Speaking of which...

Serana sat up for a moment, and began to unzip Valkyrie's Dawnguard armor. Much to the vampire's delight, Valkyrie wasn't wearing her smallclothes.

"Were you expecting this or something?" Serana moaned seductively

"Maybe." was all Valkyrie could respond with before Serana removed removed her shirt completely.

Valkyrie's breasts were a luscious sight. Serana was actually a bit jealous, as the Nord had larger breasts than she did. The vampire wasted no time in putting her tongue to these marvels, making Valkyrie whimper once more. As Serana swiveled her tongue across Valkyrie's breast, the Nord's whimpers became progressively louder, making their way up to moans. All the while Serana's mouth was busy, she had kept her hand equally at work on Valkyrie's crotch. They were both getting so worked up that whatever self-control or restraint either of them may have had was beginning to slip away. They were just about to rip one another's clothes asunder when...

"RAAAAWWWR!"

It was a troll...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Come on! You really thought I was going to let them get it on in a cave? Nope. Sorry. Not my style. But don't worry, this is the last time I'm going to blue ball you guys. The next time this happens, it's going to fucking HAPPEN. On a side note: 20,000 views? Hell to the muhfuckin' yes! On another note: If you guys like this story, feel free to check my profile and read my other story I'm now working on, "King Of Thieves." I'd appreciate it alot! 


	30. Chapter 23A

"Who knew trolls could be such cockblocks?" Valkyrie said, disappointed.

"Aww, is someone feeling a little down?" Serana teased as she kicked the dead troll at her feet.

"Well... yes, actually." The Nord responded, as she looked downward to conceal her amused look.

Serana replied with a simple kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to rock each other's worlds later."

With that remark, Valkyrie was content, and the two continued further into the cave, finding all manner of dangerous creatures. Not only were there more trolls, but also every size of Frostbite Spider. Thankfully, the two together made short work of these creatures, Serana's magic and Valkyrie's crossbow and dagger proving to be a formidable duo. It wasn't long however, before they reached what appeared to be a dead end. They had come to a worn-down, rickety old wooden bridge that led to essentially nothing. Nothing but a wall on the other side of the cavern.

"No. This can't be it." Valkyrie said beginning to panic.

"Calm down." Serana said, trying to console her friend. "Maybe we missed something?"

"You and I both know there was nothing to miss back there, Serana." Valkyrie said, defeated.

Why? Why did the Gods torment her so? The Elder Scrolls had told her that this cave was the location of Auriel's Bow, but now it seemed fate had lied to her once again. Valkyrie felt her anger rising. She did not deserve this. She did not deserve to be a plaything of destiny. The Nord was just about to curse off this entire mission, when the bridge collapsed.

Valkyrie didn't even have time to scream before she hit the water. The current was moving incredibly fast, pushing her through the caves and tunnels underneath that she hadn't even known were there. She hadn't even been able to catch her breath before the current had overtaken her, either, and after a moment her lungs began to burn. Valkyrie struggled to get to the surface of this stream, but the raging current made it seemingly impossible. How far could this possibly go?

The aching in her lungs grew more intense. If she didn't get a gulp of air soon, she'd surely drown. Moments passed, the current dragging her along at breakneck speed, yet still forcing her to remain submerged. Her vision started to blur. Valkyrie was almost sure that this was where she was going to die, all her efforts wasted, when the stream came to a waterfall. Not a deadly drop of a waterfall, but one maybe five or six feet. When the water finally released her from its grasp, Valkyrie took in the biggest gulp of air she'd ever taken in her life. To no avail, though, as barely a second passed before Valkyrie hit the ground. Hard. On her ribs. Which caused the air to be knocked right back out of her lungs.

The aching was unbearable. After the impact, Valkyrie found herself unable to take in any more air. She commanded her lungs to expand, but they refused. The Nord, in response to the agony of not being able to breathe, began to convulse on the ground. Her vision blurred further, then, in the slowest of motions, began to fade. Valkyrie was preparing to greet her brother and father when she made out a blurred figure approaching her...

Serana! The vampire looked panicked, and wasted no time pressing her lips to Valkyrie's. A bit of an odd time for a kiss goodbye, but then Valkyrie noticed something. Her lungs were working again. She felt the sweet rush of oxygen fill them, the burning vanish to nothing, and her vision return to normal.

"Thank you..." Valkyrie said before letting out a fit of coughing.

"Don't mention it." Serana responded, relieved.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Valkyrie questioned after her coughing had subsided.

"You forget, I'm over two thousand years old. You pick up on stuff like this when you've been alive for that long."

The answer satisfied her, and, after Serana helped her up, the two ventured onward.

This had to be the tenth time in a month that Serana had saved her skin. Valkyrie owed the vampire her life, and she knew it. Gods knew it was very unlikely that she'd ever be able to repay her. Thankfully, though, Serana didn't seem like the kind of person to hold things over people's heads. Another thing Valkyrie liked about her... The feeling in her stomach was back, stronger than ever before. Was she sick? No, surely not. And it couldn't be food poisoning, as Valkyrie hadn't eaten for a while. Hopefully she'd be able to figure this out later.

"Hold on." Serana said holding a hand in front of Valkyrie. "Do you see that?"

She did. Further down in the cave, there was... a light. Not your average sunlight-peeking-through-a-crack light, but not like the spell Serana had cast earlier, either. Valkyrie readied herself, as whatever this light was coming from, it would probably be hostile. She loaded a bolt into her crossbow, and Serana focused her magicka, when a voice called to them.

"Stay your weapons. You have nothing to fear."

The twp did not sheathe, but relaxed their respective weapons a bit, as to see who was speaking to them. As they got closer to the light, they began to make out... a person. Who on Nirn would want to live all the way down here? But as they got closer, they also noticed a sizeable stone structure, one that appeared to have the ancient symbol of Auri-El plastered on it.

As they approached closer, Valkyrie made out that the man adressing them was indeed an Elf. But he was unlike any Elves she had seen in her life. Whereas most Elves had skins that were either golden, for Altmer, gray, for Dunmer, or bronze-ish, for Bosmer, this Elf's skin was completely white. What on Nirn was he?

"Greetings." The elf began again. "I am Knight-Paladin Gelebor, cheif Paladin of the Chantry of Auri-El."

"I assume you know why we're here." Valkyrie said with a slight smirk.

"Yes. You seek to claim Auriel's Bow. I shall help you, but first, I need you to help me."

What a surprise. One more thing to stand in their way.

"What do you need our help with?" Serana asked, trying to conceal the annoyed tone in her voice.

"I need you to kill Arch-Curate Vyrthur. My brother."

"Kill your brother? Why?" Valkyrie asked.

"The kinship between us is gone. He is no longer the man I once knew."

Gelebor explained that many years ago, untold masses of the Falmer, or the Betrayed as he called them, had swarmed the Chantry of Auri-El, slaughtering everyone they found inside. Gelebor led a small group of Knight-Paladins at the time, but they were no match for the Falmer' sheer numbers. In the end, the Chantry was all but destroyed, and Arch-Curate Vyrthur was... corrupted. Valkyrie found it a little suspicious. After all, why would they kill everyone else, but simply 'corrupt' this Vyrthur?

"I do not know." Gelebor said as Valkyrie asked. "They are twisted beings, long since deteriorated from what my kin once were. Who knows what motivation they could have had?"

His kin? How could this Elf be possibly connected to the feral monstrocities that were the Falmer? Then it clicked.

"So then... you're a Snow Elf. You're a Falmer!" Valkyrie said, amazed.

"I prefer Snow Elf. The term 'Falmer' usually carries a negative meaning."

"Forgive my astonishment, it's just... Snow Elves are something of Nordic legend."

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Serana. "I understand your amazement, but we need to get the bow."

Valkyrie nodded, and Gelebor explained what this task entailed. The Chantry of Auri-El was spread across a massive distance, marked by more of these stone structures, whiched were called 'Wayshrines.' By the 'grace' of Auri-El, the preists attending the wayshrines were left in a spiritual form so they could continue their duties. When Serana thought that meant they'd be able to help them, Gelebor quickly shot that thought down. Valkyrie and Serana would have to act as though they were initiates of the Chantry, which involved lugging around a pitcher of water, filling it at each of the wayshrines, then pouring the contents out at the Temple of Auri-El, which would grant an initiate an audience with the Arch-Curate. To kill him, in their case. Serana voiced her opinions on how ridiculous this all seemed.

"It's symbolic." Gelebor retorted. "I don't expect you to understand."

Valkyrie stopped Serana from firing back with another remark, and thanked Gelebor. The Snow Elf focused his magicka in his palm, which raised the stone structure out of the ground, revealing it to be a portal. Valkyrie filled the Initiate's Ewer, and prepared herself as she and Serana stepped through the portal 


	31. Chapter 23B

"That wasn't as unpleasant as I thought it was going to be." Serana commented as the two emerged from the other side of the portal. "Kind of soothing, actually."

Valkyrie just nodded. She took a deep breath, and readied herself. If what Gelebor had said was true, there were Falmer in this cave. Lots of of Falmer. Creatures that, according to legend and the accounts of surviving explorers, were feral and bloodthirsty. She knew that she and Serana had to be careful here. She herself had never dealt with a Falmer personally, so she had no idea what to expect.

Not even a minute passed before a dozen of the things swarmed them. If Valkyrie wasn't so busy letting bolts fly from her crossbow, she may very well have thrown up. These creatures were absolutely hideous, nothing like what Gelebor looked like. They were twisted, deformed version of the Elves she had seen in her life, but with white skin. She felt as though she were doing the world a service by putting these monsters down.

Within no time, whatever Falmer were still alive were missing limbs, and retreated into the cave. Didn't make sense, Valkyrie thought, as they were just going to follow them.

The cave was massive, and it took the two companions hours to navigate through. There was no shortage of Falmer, either. Around every corner, there were more and more of the monsters, each one more vicious than the next. Valkyrie could see why the sheer numbers made Gelebor hesitant to go after Vyrthur himself, but even so, bloodthirsty monsters that they were, the Falmer were hardly posing a challenge to the team of Valkyrie and Serana.

A dead end. Valkyrie sighed. Of course it was a dead end. Why should something be easy after all they'd been through? She inspected the walls, searching for any little thing that could possibly tell them what to do next, when Serana piped up.

"Hey. I found something."

The vampire had stumbled upon what appeared to be a pull chain, one made from Falmer statuary, that had been concealed behind a bush of nirnroot. Serana pulled the chain, and the wall in front of them shifted, and eventually receded into the ground, revealing the path further.

"We'd better be careful." Serana said. "Whatever's in there, someone obviously wanted to KEEP it in there."

Valkyrie nodded in agreement once again, as the two stepped throught the door. No sooner had they walked through, were they attacked by... a sabre cat? Valkyrie hadn't seen one of these beasts since she had left The Reach. Thankfully, though, she remembered her experiences and the girl-on-sabre cat death matches she'd had, so she managed to put the animal down in a few seconds.

The two both noticed something about its pelt. Most sabre cats had a golden-brown coat of fur, except for the ones who lived in Skyrim's more wintry regions, whose fur was white as the snow. This one, however... its pelt was as black as the night, and appeared to have strange, bright green markings all over it. Something was up here.

Valkyrie and Serana advanced forward, before taking in the sight of the massive cavern before them. Whereas most of Darkfall Cave had been pitch-black, this cavern was as bright as daylight, strange glowing vegetation growing on every surface. There were several more animals with the same strange pelt as the sabre cat, but most of them were harmless creatures like deer, or foxes.

More Falmer. Valkyrie hadn't let Serana know, for fear of worrying her, but exhaustion was starting to catch up with her. They'd been wandering this cave for at least a full twenty four hours, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep. It appeared to be taking its toll on Serana as well, as the Falmer were becoming more and more troubling as time went on. Still though, Valkyrie and Serana once again proved victors, as they continued through the cavern.

After a time, Valkyrie thanked the Gods as they reached a second wayshrine. The Initiate's Ewer, most likely due to Gelebor's magic, disappeared whenever they left the previous wayshrine, but now here it was, in Valkyrie's hand, waiting to be filled. The wayshrine rose from the ground, revealing another ceremonial water thingy, as Serana had taken to calling them. Valkyrie filled the Ewer, and another portal opened up, most likely leading to the next cave, or whatever else this Chantry encompassed. They had to ingore the raving of the ghost of the priest who tended the shrine as they made their way through.

Once again, the soothing feeling of passing through the portal made some of Valkyrie's discomfort from being so exhausted fade, but it quickly caught up to her again. She hoped they would find a place to rest soon.

This was not a normal cave. Valkyrie knew that as they walked further. Before she could wonder what could be waiting for them, her questions were answered in the form of the most beautiful valleyed landscape she had ever set her eyes on. It was absolutely breathtaking. This must have been the Forgotten Vale. Thirteen years ago, before the Karthwasten attack, Valkyrie had read about this legendary place in one of her father's books. The book had described the Vale's beauty as being indescribable. It was an understatement.

So lost was Valkyrie in her amazement of this place, that she didn't notice the lone Falmer coming up behind them, not until the sound of twisted steel meeting flesh pounded against her ears, of the sound of Serana screaming in pain.

Valkyrie was wide awake now. She took the monster down in seconds and kneeled down to try and help a fallen Serana. It wasn't good. The Falmer's blade had taken a wide cut all the way across her torso. It was bleeding profusely. Valkyrie tried to mend the wound with what Restoration she knew, but it was no use. This wound was beyond anything she'd experienced previously, either on herself or on someone else. Serana's breathing became ragged and irregular.

Valkyrie started to panic. "Come on, Serana. Stay with me." She made a last ditch effort to apply a bit of pressure to Serana's wound, as to stop the bleeding. No such luck, the pressure only made the vampire howl with pain.

She was trying to remain calm, but she was all but losing her mind at the thought of this wound claiming her friend. Serana's breathing, still ragged, began to die down, becoming more infrequent.

"Serana?" Valkyrie said, shaking her friend, trying to keep her with her.

No response.

"Serana!" She shook harder. Still nothing.

Serana moved her head, looking directly into Valkyrie's eyes, which were now filled with tears. The vampire weakly lifted her arm, just being able to bring it up to gently caress Valkyrie's cheekbone, before it fell down again. The bright amber hue that was normally in Serana's eyes faded away to a dull gray, and her breathing stopped completely.

"SERANA!" 


	32. Chapter 24

Everything faded. Valkyrie was nothing more than a hollow shell. She could not think. She could not feel. She didn't notice her hand subconciously reaching for her dagger until it was right in front of her face. With the blankest of expressions, she marveled at the blade, its golden shine, although stained with the blood of coutnless others, still managing to show a reflection of a face back at her. Who's face was this? Was it her mother's? The woman that she had never known? No... no, this was someone else entirely.

It was her. It was Valkyrie's face in the reflection. All it took was the simple realization of this, and reality faded back in and crushed her like an avalanche. And there just weren't enough tears. The Nord sobbed and cried and broke down right over the corpse of her fallen friend...

Serana...

Serana was dead. And it was Valkyrie's fault. If she had been just slightly more alert, she would have noticed the Falmer. She would have saved Serana. Serana would still be alive. A new feeling merged itself in amongst the sadness and the devastation. Guilt. It was her fault and no one else's. The grief, the guilt, and the numbness overwhelmed the Nord, and she cried. And cried. And continued to cry. Time no longer had any meaning. She couldn't tell if a moment had passed, or a century. Not that it mattered. Without her, nothing mattered...

Realization. The sadness and guilt made way for a third feeling. Valkyrie looked down at Serana's body, at the vampire's beautiful face, which was now darkened by empty gray eyes. She knew now. Why she had allowed herself to get so attached to one of the creatures she bad sworn to hunt. The strange sensation in her stomach. The fear. The lust...

"I loved her..."

The Nord's were but a whisper, but they could have shaken mountains. Valkyrie loved Serana, and now it was too late. Too late... too late. Valkyrie repeated that phrase over and over again in her mind. It was too late to tell Serana of her feelings. Because she had figured these feelings out too late. Because she was too late in saving her friend. Too late...

Too late became too much. Valkyrie was broken. Her love was dead, and so she had nothing to live for, such is the way of lovers. Her grip tightened on her dagger. She looked back at the reflection of her face, caked with dust and blood. It should have been her. Serana didn't deserve to meet an end like this. It should have been me, Valkyrie thought. It was her fault, after all.

Valkyrie took her time carefully positioning her dagger above her chest. She wanted the quickest way out as possible. If only her family could see her now. She would never see any of them again now, she was sure. There was no Sovngarde for a coward who took her own life. She understood why Gronmir and Skjalund were so bitter. She understood more than anyone now what it meant to lose someone you love. The dagger was in position. All it would take was one quick thrust...

A gasp for air. Valkyrie stopped. Was it her? Had she made the noise? No, she couldn't have. Her breath had already been taken. Taken, by the death of...

Serana!

The vampire's body began to shake violently. The ragged breathing returned, and Valkyrie was almost unable to fight back further tears. She watched, unable to move, as the vampire's ragged breathing became slower and steadier. The shaking died down, then stopped altogether. The eyes, those eyes that had been gray, empty, and dead mere moments ago re-lighted, their bright orange hue as brilliant as ever.

Serana was alive. But barely.

Valkyrie didn't waste any time. She carefully lifted the vampire off the ground, taking measure to use both her arms and not to agitate the wound. She was surprised how light Serana was, meaning either Valkyrie had become much stronger in the previous months, or there were other effects of vampirism that she wasn't aware of. Serana still appeared to be unconcious, so Valkyrie allowed her mind to race while she looked for a safe place to take care of her until the wound was treatable. She went over every little fact about vampirism she had learned from the Dawnguard.

She knew vampires were weak against sunlight. Most burst into flames in the sun, but for the Volkihars, it was essentially the equivalent to a mild sunburn. She knew vampires had enhanced senses and reflexes. There had been plenty of times when Serana had seen or heard something that Valkyrie couldn't pick up. And Serana had often times been able to out-maneuver her enemies with the greatest of ease. She knew that vampires had a capacity to heal themselves...

That was it! Serana's ability to heal herself. It seemed vampirism had saved her life, and Valkyrie thanked the Gods. If Serana had been a normal human, she would have been dead long ago.  
The vampire took a deep breath, and looked up at Valkyrie still carrying her in her arms, desperately looking for a safe haven in this forgotten valley.

"V... Val...Valkyrie." the vampire stuttered.

"I'm here, Serana."

"It... hurts."

Yes it did. For Serana to admit that she was in pain, meant that she was in agony, which in turn sent a bolt of pain up Valkyrie's spine. The Dawnguard no longer mattered. Harkon no longer mattered. Food and sleep no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered now was keeping Serana alive.

"Don't worry. I promise I won't let anything else happen to you."

She made a silent prayer that she would be able to keep this promise. If she was unable... she didn't want to think about what would happen. Valkyrie's eyes came upon a small cave, one that only went maybe twenty feet back. It was the perfect hideout for the two of them. The Nord wasted no time racing to the opening. Upon arrival, she gently placed Serana on the ground, taking notice that the vampire had fallen asleep. She didn't mind this. Sleep was a restorative. Sleep wasn't death.

Valkyrie began looking through her satchel and going through the supplies she had brought. There was enough food for about four more days, something she needed desperately right about now. The ordeal with Serana had numbed her senses for a while, but now they were returning, and Valkyrie felt like a starving beggar. She took a bite out of a sweet roll, the sugar bouncing off her tongue, feeling like Sovngarde when it filled her stomach. She went through this and half a salmon steak rather quickly before deciding that she should stop, conserve the food.

Serana was waking up. Valkyrie didn't hesitate to go over and sit at her friend's side. The vampire was fully awake now, and Valkyrie marveled at her. Perhaps this was the time to tell her...

"Hey."

Serana had chosen to say as little as possible, it seemed. And for good reason. Conserving her strength was important right now.

"Hey." came Valkyrie's reply.

"What happened?"

The image of Serana, struck down by a rogue Falmer, bleeding to death in her arms was still fresh in Valkyrie's mind. She had to fight back tears before saying...

"It doesn't matter now. You're safe."

Serana laughed the faintest of chuckles, and prepared to drift back into sleep. All the while, Valkyrie was screaming at herself in her head. Tell her, you idiot! You might not get another chance! It was true, but even so, she was terrified of what Serana's reaction might be. What if the vampire didn't love her? What if she burst into tears at the mention of it? After all, the last time Serana had dealt with someone who 'loved' her, she had been used, tortured, abused, and just about everything else someone could think of. Then again, it was not exactly the same kind of love...

"Serana?" Valkyrie asked before the vampire fell back asleep.

Serana looked up at her friend and made a faint smile. "Yes?"

"I... uh..."

Gods damn it. She had lost her nerve. Besides, now was not the time to set Serana's mind at unease. She had almost died, after all.

"I just... I'm glad you're ok." 


	33. Chapter 25

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys. I know I disappeared on you for a while, and have pretty much nothing to show for it except this short filler chapter. I've been having the world's worst case of writer's block lately, and on top of that, graduation is this week. I promise to get back to this as soon as I can. Thanks, and by the way, you're all sexy as hell ;)

Valkyrie awoke in a frenzy. It was unclear if it was due to some obscure nightmare, or because she had actually realized she was asleep. It had been only yesterday when Serana had nearly been killed by the rogue Falmer, and Valkyrie had promised herself that she wouldn't sleep until the vampire was healthy again. She looked over, and Serana herself was also in a deep sleep. Valkyrie took a look at her armor, noticing that her wound was already healing quite nicely. Who knew vampirism could be such a boon in times of desperation?

Valkyrie sat up and leaned against the wall of the cave. She began to think about all the things that had led her here. Back home in Markarth, she would have never believed that she would join a band of vampire hunters, and in turn get wrapped up in a plan to stop an ancient and incredibly long-winded prophecy in which vampires would claim dominion over the sun. And least of all, she would have never believed that she would end up falling madly in love with a vampire herself.

Valkyrie looked back at Serana, still gripped in peaceful slumber. By the Gods, she looks so beautiful, the Nord thought to herself as she began to subconsciously smile. Even though this was not the ideal situation for the two to be in, it was nice. As long as Serana was around, Valkyrie was happy.

Thinking back again to the previous day, Valkyrie began to feel ashamed. She was so sure that Serana had died that she became overcome with grief and guilt, and she had actually considered taking her own life. She shuddered thinking about it. Even if, by some miracle, she ended up going to Sovngarde, what would her family think? Gronmir, her brother would probably ridicule her without end. Skjalund, her father, would most likely turn her away and refuse to speak. The two of them had always been adamant that they hated cowards.

And what of her mother? The woman whose name she didn't even know? Would this woman who she had never had any sort of connection to, other than what her family had told her, be willing to accept her if she had gone through with it?

So many thoughts, and not enough minutes in an hour to ponder them all. Valkyrie refocused herself on Serana. Her sole duty right now was making sure the vampire stayed alive. Everything else would simply have to wait.

Valkyrie felt her stomach rumble. How long had she been out? The Nord forced herself to her feet, and crossed the cave over to where Serana lay asleep. She reached down for her bag of supplies, but was unprepared for what she would find. At first, she noticed the bag seemed lighter than it should. Valkyrie took a glance into the bag, and was flabbergasted to find that it was empty. The food, the potions, they were all gone.

She looked down. Could Serana have eaten it all while Valkyrie slept? No. Vampires didn't need food like normal humans did. They only ate and drank to blend themselves in. There must be something else going on here. Valkyrie inspected the area outside the cave. She wasn't surprised by what she found, but at the same time, it couldn't have been worse.

Falmer tracks...

It had been obvious since Darkfall Passage that these Falmer were more clever than most, which also made them deadlier. Valkyrie could spy a large encampment of Falmer off in the distance, sure that the food must have been taken there. But how to retrieve it? Strolling into a Falmer camp alone, weapons ablaze was suicide. There had to be another way.

"Uunnnhhh..."

The word "Falmer" nearly disappeared from Valkyrie's vocabulary as she turned her focus to the awakening vampire.

"Hey."

"What's up, gorgeous?"

Valkyrie laughed silently as she sat down beside Serana. For a moment, everything was nice. Serana was well, Valkyrie was content to be at her side. But reality had a way of slapping Valkyrie in the face, as her stomach began rumbling again. Time to break it to her...

"Serana, we've got a problem."

"And what might that be?"

"I dozed off for a while, and some Falmer came and took our supplies."

"Falmer? Are you sure? Wouldn't they have just killed us in our sleep?"

A fair question. Even if these Falmer were smarter than the ones who dwelled in the old dwarven ruins, they were still Falmer, and so they still harbored a bone-deep hatred and a will to destroy all those who dwelled on the surface. But one thing was for certain, Valkyrie was going to find out. The only question now was how.

"I think I know where they went."

"Please tell me you're not planning on going there alone?"

"I don't really have a choice. You're still not in any condition to come with me."

Serana had heard enough. She forced herself to an upright position, grunting with frustration, as her wound still proved to be a burden. It pained Valkyrie to see her friend like this, but no amount of consoling or persuasion was going to change the vampire's mind.

"I'm not letting you go by yourself."

"Serana-"

"Serana nothing." The vampire cut her off sternly. "Look at what happened to me, and that was just ONE Falmer. They'd tear you to pieces."

Valkyrie wanted to argue, but realized the futility of it. No meant no, and Serana seemed very adamant about it. But even still, her stubborn Nord pride got the best of her.

"What am I supposed to do? We need those supplies."

"Valkyrie..." Serana began before her voice trailed off. Valkyrie began to worry that she may have hurt the vampire somehow. The last thing she needed was the knowledge that she had caused the one she loved any sort of pain. She sat patiently, waiting for Serana to begin again. After what felt like an age of maddening silence, Serana spoke up...

"Look, you're the only friend I've had in... a long time. If something was to happen to you..."

Valkyrie immediately felt a wave of relief rush over her. Mainly she was relieved that she hadn't done anything to upset Serana. But it was coming from somewhere else as well. What Serana said... the vampire obviously cared for Valkyrie. The relief gave way to a new feeling. Hope. Maybe, if Serana meant what she said about Valkyire, it was possible the vampire felt the same way she did. It was possible that Serana... loved her.

"Don't worry." was all Valkyrie could manage to respond with. "We don't really need those supplies that much."

Serana smirked. "Are you always this easy to convince?"

Valkyrie's only response was a soft chuckle. Serana had her answer, and the two sat in silence for a bit longer. The hope returned. The faint hope that perhaps Serana shared Valkyrie's feelings. And also the burning need to tell the vampire about them. And it showed, as Serana began to take notice of the nervous look that had begun to adorn the Nord's face.

"Are you alright?"

Valkyrie nearly jumped.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You look like you need to tell me something really important."

Fuck. Here was fate once again, making Valkyrie its bitch. She knew she'd have to tell Serana eventually, but it just didn't seem like the right time. Valkyrie summoned every ounce of self-restraint she had in her, in order to keep herself from pouring her own heart out right then and there, took a deep breath, and responded...

"Maybe later. I need to get some rest right now." 


	34. Chapter 26

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

The vampire smiled politely and nodded in response. Valkyrie, however, had her doubts about Serana's current physical state. Serana claimed that, thanks to her vampirism and natural ability to heal herself, the wound which nearly took her life a few days ago was now nothing more than a simple scar. She claimed that she was once again in fighting condition, and was prepared to aid Valkyrie in storming the nearby Falmer encampment to retrieve the food and supplies that had been stolen while they slept.

The Nord wasn't so sure. She wanted Serana to take it easy for a few more days, just to be on the safe side, but Serana wasn't having any of it. She wanted Falmer blood, and wanted it sooner rather than later.

It was early morning, the sun just barely being able to make its way over the horizon. Although Serana knew she would be weakened during this attack, she still felt confident that these Falmer would fall before her. Valkyrie and her vampire companion had spent the hours before the sun had come up scouting the area, counting a total of sixteen Falmer in this particular encampment.

"Are you ready?" Serana asked her friend.

Valkyrie nodded and readied her crossbow, while Serana began to focus her magicka in her palms. The two women took a deep breath, and fired their weapons in perfect unison. Three of the sixteen Falmer were dead before they could even draw their blades. Valkyrie smiled. It was good to have Serana back.

The two stormed right into the heart of the camp, preparing for the assault of Falmer from all directions. Thankfully, Valkyrie and Serana were no strangers to being outnumbered, and once again assumed their back-to-back defensive position, daggers in hands, as the wretched elves fell before them one by one. It was over in a matter of minutes.

Valkyrie was now especially grateful to have Serana back at full strength. Alone, neither of them could have possibly survived walking into a Falmer camp and coming out with barely a scratch. But together? Together, these two women were truly a force to be reckoned with.

Sure enough, their supplies were stored in a chest located in one of the larger longhouses. Thankfully, the Falmer hadn't tried to use any of the food for some bizarre alchemy experiment. Along with the stolen supplies, there were a few more things as well. Things that would undoubtedly turn a profit once they were home.

Serana was off gathering alchemy ingredients from the dead Falmer, which gave Valkyrie a bit of time to look through the Falmers' loot chest. There were all manner of interesting things in here. A few staffs, some enchanted rings, and more than a few books with unreadable texts, most likely the ancient Falmer language, back from when they were still the snow elves. Then there was something else, at the bottom of the chest...

An Amulet Of Mara.

Valkyrie didn't even think for a moment about why these twisted beings would want an Amulet Of Mara. The first thing that popped into her mind as the amulet graced her palm, was Serana. Valkyrie didn't hesitate to slip the amulet on underneath her Dawnguard armor.

I'm gonna need you later, she thought to herself as she zipped her armor back up.

The next eight hours passed in the blink of an eye. Exploring the Forgotten Vale, killing wave after wave of Falmer, ocassionally finding more Wayshrines that Gelebor spoke of. The priests tending these Wayshrines, however, were delusional at best. Apparently, they believed that the Chantry was still an active center of worship, and as such, believed that Valkyrie and Serana were simply two new initiates taking the path to the Inner Sanctum. It was annoying, but the priests were at least staying out of their way, unlike their Betrayed bretheren.

The sun was beginning to go down, which in turn, truly restored Serana to her full strength. And just at the right time, as they were just approaching the final Wayshrine, just outside of a massive Falmer encampment. Time to go through the motions again...

"Welcome to the Wayshrine of Radiance. Are you prepared to honor the mantras of Auri-El, and fill your vessel with His enlightenment?"

"Yes." Valkyrie responded, trying her damndest to sound like an enthusiastic Snow Elf who saw no underlying humor in the phrase "fill your vessel with His enlightenment."

"Auri-El bless you, child. May His light protect you as you climb the road to the Inner Sanctum."

Once again, due to some obscure Snow Elf magic at the hands of Gelebor, here was the Initiate's Ewer, in Valkyrie's hands, ready to be filled with water. This time, however, the vessel didn't disappear after it tasted the water from the Wayshrine.

"Are you kidding me? What am I going to do with this thing if more Falmer attack us?" Valkyrie sighed in frustration, not caring if the ghostly priest heard her.

"I don't think we need to worry." Serana said as she pointed off into the distance.

Valkyrie adjusted her gaze to see what Serana was seeing, and her jaw nearly dropped. Not even a hundred feet away, was a truly massive stone building unlike anything else they had seen in the Vale, but with statuary very much like that of the Wayshrines. There was no mistake, this had to be the Inner Sanctum. It was almost over...

Standing between the two and the Inner Sanctum, was an enormous stone bridge that, although it was absolutely ancient, had very little signs of any decay. Underneath the bridge, at least four hundred feet below, was the largest encampment of Falmer either of them had ever seen. It could have been a city, if its wretched inhabitants had been civilized enough to make it so.

Valkyrie and Serana crossed the bridge with little trouble. After all, this massive structure was not the rickety, flimsy bridge they had stumbled upon back in Darkfall Cave.

Upon reaching the entryway to the temple, the two were greeted by a giant golden statue, obviously a depiction of Auri-El. It seemed strange to Valkyrie, that although, according to history and lore, they were the same entity, yet this Auri-El looked so different from Akatosh, who normally was depicted as a dragon. It apparently seemed strange to Serana too...

"This temple is using the old symbols of Auri-El's power. Gods, this temple must be truly ancient."

A simple nod was Valkyrie's only response as the two climbed the stairs leading to the temple doors. At the top of said stairs, they were greeted by a simple vessel, very similar to the ones contained in the Wayshrines. Valkyrie took a deep breath, and poured the water from the Ewer into the vessel. It slowly disappeared, and Valkyrie nervously shifted her line of vision to the temple doors, waiting for something, for anything to happen.

It did. A brilliant ray of green light shot down in front of the temple doors as they unlocked themselves. Valkyrie turned to Serana with a huge smile adorning her face, which the vampire returned. The two women gave each other a "here we go" gesture and readied their respective weapons as they entered the Inner Sanctum. 


	35. Chapter 27

Valkyrie and Serana were not prepared for what they saw upon entering the Inner Sanctum. There were countless Falmer in the main entry hall alone. Upon sight, the Nord and the vampire unsheathed their weapons, prepared to do further battle with these wretched, Betrayed elves.

Only the Falmer weren't attacking. In fact, they weren't moving at all. After a closer inspection, Serana made a horrifying discovery.

"The Falmer... they're frozen in the ice."

It was true. Not only were they Betrayed elves completely frozen, but the entire temple seemed to now be a frozen, crumbling ruin. The only part that seemed to be preserved, it seemed, was a glowing shrine to Auri-El, directly in the center of the room. Oddly enough, judging by their positions, most of these Falmer had met their fate while trying to reach the shrine, more than likely intending to destroy it.

"And I thought the Soul Cairn was creepy..."

Valkyrie offered no response, but the two pressed onward into the Inner Sanctum. Very slowly, and very carefully choosing where to step. Although these Falmer were frozen, they still looked as though they could come to life at any moment. They gave Valkyrie the all-too familiar feeling that she was being watched. Still though, she was holding out her hope that maybe something would go right.

"Maybe... maybe this 'Vyrthur' is frozen too. It'll be that much easier to kill him."

Serana just chuckled. "After everything we've been through, you expect things to suddenly start being easy?"

Valkyrie sighed, as the vampire was right. Nothing on this little journey had ever come easy, so why would things be any different now? As the two went further and further into the temple, it progressively began to look less like a chapel, and more like a giant iceberg. And the cold. Valkyrie was a Nord, so being cold nomally meant very little to her, but this. This cold was unnatural. As though it were the work of some kind of magic. The Nord and the vampire found their way through a long, narrow tunnel of ice. There was an opening at the end which appeared to lead into a much larger room. As they entered what appeared to be a throne room, they noticed more Falmer frozen in the ice. But then, there was a staircase, leading up to the throne, which appeared to have a man sitting in it, who was either asleep, or dead. Upon a closer look, Valkyrie discovered that this was no Falmer sitting in the throne. This was a Snow Elf.

"Vyrthur!" The Nord absent-mindedly blurted out.

Vyrthur's head jerked upwards, as to see who was adressing him. The ancient elf smirked.

"Did you REALLY come here expecting to claim Auriel's Bow?"

"Kind of." Valkyrie retorted.

"Ha! You've done exactly as I predicted, and brought your fetching companion to me!"

Serana spoke up... "Is... is he talking about me?"

What in Oblivion was going on? Had Vyrthur been expecting them this whole time? And if so, how had he possibly known it would be Valkyrie and Serana in particular who had come to slay him?

"Which, I'm sorry to say, means your usefulness is at an end!"

Frozen Falmer began to thaw immediately, taking the Nord and the vampire by surprise, although they quickly regained themselves and began to put the beasts down. All the while, Vyrthur was laughing at the two, telling them that all their efforts were in vain and that he would undoubtedly have the last laugh. Wave after wave of Falmer unfroze, but they all met the same fate of being put down by Valkyrie and Serana. Vyrthur was beginning to lose his patience, as it showed when he summoned a Frost Atronach with the final wave of Falmer. Didn't this fool know that Nords and vampires alike were both naturally resistant to cold? The Atronach proved to be stronger than the frozen elves, but was still put down with relative ease. At this point, Vyrthur began to lose it.

"NO! I won't let you undo centuries of preparation!"

The next thing Valkyrie saw was a blinding flash of light, and an unseen force which knocked her off of her feet. When her vision came, the Nord caught a glimpse of Serana kneeling over her, trying to help her up.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just knocked me down."

"Come on, we can do this."

Valkyrie looked up and saw nothing but Serana and the night sky above her. This Vyrthur was so powerful that he pulled down the entire ceiling? The Nord rose to her feet and followed Serana. Behind the throne there was a small staircase, which in turn led to a large open balcony with a view of the entire Vale, on which Vyrthur was slumping over. He had apparently injured himself while performing whatever magic he had just used.

"It's over. Give us the bow, Vyrthur." Serana said purposefully.

"How dare you! I was the Arch-Curate of Auri-El, girl!"

"Until the Betrayed corrupted you. Yes, yes, we've heard this sad story already.

At Serana's snarky comeback, the Snow Elf began to do something that neither of them had expected. He started to laugh.

"Gelebor and his kind are easily manipulated fools."

Vyrthur erected himself, and stared at Serana as though she were the godess Dibella herself.

"Look into my eyes, Serana. You tell me what I am."

Serana, and Valkyrie as well, took a deep look into the pupils of this Elf, who they were sure at any moment was going to attempt to kill them both. They looked, they saw, and they were horrified.

"You're... you're a vampire?" was all Valkyrie was able to squeak out.

"But that makes no sense. Auri-El should've protected you!" Serana spoke up again.

At the very mention of the name 'Auri-El,' Vyrthur's face went completely sour.

"Auri-El turned his back on me the moment I was infected by one of my own initiates! And I swore I'd have my revenge, no matter the cost!"

Serana raised one eyebrow. "You want revenge... on a god?"

"Auri-El himself may have been out of my reach, but his influence on our world was not! All I needed was the blood of a Daughter Of Coldharbour, and Auriel's Bow."

Valkyrie had pieced it together while Serana was still wondering what was going on. Auriel's Bow, the blood of a pure vampire. It all suddenly made sense...

"You're the one who created the prophecy!" The Nord almost shouted.

Valkyrie looked over at Serana, whose face showed nothing but rage in its purest and most deadly form. She watched, terrified, as Serana's fangs made themselves known, and she proceeded to grab Vyrthur by the collar of his cuirass, and lift him into the air with a single arm.

"You've been waiting all this time for someone with my blood to come along..."

With her free hand, Serana drew her claws.

"Well, too bad. I intend on keeping it."

Without another word, Vyrthur raised his feet, and kicked Serana square in the stomach, forcing her to release her grip, and also sending her flying back a few feet. Valkyrie didn't hesitate to plunger her dagger into the vampire's shoulder. Vyrthur yelped in pain, but quickly reconstituted himself, as he knocked Valkyrie back with a swift backhand that made her feel as though she had been hit by a mammoth. But now Serana was back on her feet, fangs at the ready, as she went straight for the Elf's throat, treating Valkyrie to a terrifying display as she ripped Vyrthur's throat out with nothing but her teeth.

It was done. Vyrthur was silenced.

Serana looked over to a terrified Valkyrie, still on the ground, and her only offer of comfort was...

"Sorry you had to see that."

ONE WEEK AND FIVE DAYS LATER...

The trip back to Fort Dawnguard was fairly uneventful. Gelebor, after learning that Vyrthur was not corrupted, but was a vampire, was most appreciative and granted Valkyrie and Serana the use of Auriel's Bow. The weapon was absolutely beautiful, made of pure moonstone, and shining like the sun itself. Gelebor had also given her a bushel of what he called 'Sunhallowed' arrows, which, when shot with Auriel's Bow, envenloped its targets in a burst of sunlight, something that was especially devastating against, you guessed it, the undead.

However, while stopping Harkon and preserving the sun were still quite high on her list of priorities, there were more pressing matters on Valkyrie's mind. She and Serana were almost to Riften, which, by common knowledge, was home to Skyrim's Temple Of Mara. Valkyrie checked for a moment, making sure the Amulet Of Mara she'd found in the Vale was still there. It was. Which meant that it was now or never, as she may not get another chance once they went to face Harkon.

"Serana, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course. What's up?"

The two stopped walking, as Valkyrie took the deepest of breaths, and prepared to spill her guts.

"Alright, look. You and I have been through a lot together..."

Serana nodded in agreement. So far, so good.

"And, you know, when two people go through this kind of stuff together, it helps them to become... well, closer..."

The look on Serana's face suggested that she was most defintely interested in what Valkyrie was saying, although a bit confused as to where this was all heading.

"And I feel like I have gotten very close with you. So close that I really don't know what I'd do if something happened to you..."

Serana's face relaxed a bit. The vampire was reluctant to show it, but she was very eager to see where all this was going.

"I mean, I thought I had lost you back in the Vale. I was losing my mind and-"

"Are you going somewhere with all of this?" Serana cut her off with a chuckle.

Valkyrie sighed. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than crawl into a hole and die. Here she was, desperately trying to convery her feelings to the one she loved, and making an absolute fool out of herself while doing so.

"I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this stuff."

"Then don't bother with the details." Serana said with another laugh. "Just tell me what you need to tell me."

Valkyrie looked straight into Serana's eyes, the amber hue staring back at her in all its intimidating majesty. She took a once over at this beautiful vampire, on one hand, wanting more than anything to make her feelings known, so as to finally get them off of her chest, but on the other hand, was absolutely terrified at what Serana might do. Was it worth it? Were these feelings actually going to get her anywhere? There was only one way to find out...

"I love you." 


	36. Chapter 28A

Serana's eyes grew as wide as the nine holds, as she took in what Valkyrie had just revealed to her.

"You... you what?"

At this point, Valkyrie began to lose all sense of self-restraint and just let it all out.

"I love you, Serana. I've been in love with you for Gods know how long. It's been eating away at me ever since the Vale, and I knew that I might not get another chance after this, because we'd be-"

The Nord unintentionally stopped her manic lover ramblings. She was shocked, yet pleasantly so, when Serana interrupted her... with a kiss.

Valkyrie gladly accepted the vampire's embrace, as she too began to not only press her own lips onto Serana's even harder, she threw her arms around the vampire, holding her in as tightly as she possibly could. Serana did the same. It was a Sovngarde-worthy moment, Valkyrie thought. She was in the arms of the one she loved, their lips entangled in one another. It couldn't have lasted long enough, as far as Valkyrie was concerned, but it did. Serana eventually broke the kiss, before laughing and speaking up to the Nord...

"You have no idea how much weight you just took off my shoulders."

"What are you talking about?"

"All this time, I was so worried you didn't feel the same way I did."

Maybe it was the overwhelming joy and satisfaction of being in the arms of the one she loved, but Valkyrie's mind was a bit foggy, and so she had a bit of trouble understanding just what Serana was saying.

"I don't understand."

"By the blood, woman. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Please do."

Serana went in for another kiss, to which Valkyrie offered no resistance. The two met their lips for the briefest of moments, although they felt like it was an eternity, and the vampire spoke again.

"I'm saying I love you too, you moron."

Valkyrie had to resist the urge to cry. Serana loved her. At that moment, nothing else in the world mattered. They were the only beings on this plane or any, and Valkyrie was absolutely fine with. The two met their lips once more, and stayed locked in their passionate embrace for Gods know how long. But as all things must come to an end, this wonderful moment ended as well, and Valkyrie moved to another subject she'd been holding out on discussing.

"So, there's something else I wanted to ask you."

"Anything."

Valkyrie took a deep breath, before unzipping her armor just enough to pull out the Amulet Of Mara she had carefully tucked underneath.

Serana chuckled. "An Amulet Of Mara."

"I guess you already know what's on my mind."

Serana's smile disappeared, and the vampire began to hang her head, as though she were ashamed of something. Valkyrie was concerned. The last thing on Nirn she'd ever want was to cause Serana any sort of pain. It wasn't a good sign for what was to come.

"Valkyrie..."

The vampire's eyes twitched with pain and discomfort, as she worked out her choice of words. All the while, Valkyrie was resisting the urge to faint from anticipation. She already had a feeling Serana was going to refuse, but held out her hope anyway.

"Look, with my history... all the things I've done..."

Serana paused, looked up at Valkyrie, then back down again.

"I could never ask the Gods for a blessing like that."

The vampire lifted her head once again, and went in for another kiss. It was still pleasant, but this kiss felt... different. Valkyrie felt a myriad of new emotions emitting from her now-lover. Before, it had simply been love, joy, satisfaction, and just a hint of lust. They were still there, although not quite as prevalent as they made way for new feelings of sorrow, guilt, and grief.

"Valkyrie, I love you." Serana said as she broke the kiss. "And I want to be with you."

"But you won't marry me?" was Valkyrie's only response.

The vampire hung her head once again. Valkyrie began to notice her breathing was getting heavier. The Nord winced, wanting nothing more than for this whole ordeal to be over. Serana looked up for a final time, and Valkyrie felt the urge to break down on the spot as she spied a single tear running its way down Serana's cheek.

"No."

In an effort to fight back further tears, Valkyrie took yet another deep breath, and nodded. It wasn't all bad. Serana loved her, and they were finally together. Yet another kiss, this time, one that the Nord initiated. Valkyrie gently pressed her own lips against Serana's, while once again wrapping the vampire in her arms, as though attempting to choke out the pain and discomfort. After a moment, the kiss was broken, and Serana's smile was back.

"Thanks for being so... understanding."

"No, it's alright. I WAS asking a lot."

Although Valkyrie might have denied what else she was feeling at that moment, Serana saw it in the Nord's eyes and didn't hesitate to squash it.

"Still disappointed, though?"

Valkyrie hung her own head.

"Yeah."

Valkyrie felt a hand on her chin, Serana's, as the vampire raised her head. It was back. That devious smile full of foul intentions that Valkyrie knew all too well. The vampire moved in close once again, stopping herself just before their lips met. The words that followed were but a whisper, but they could have shaken mountains.

"How about you let me make it up to you?" 


	37. Chapter 28B

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, here it is. The moment you've all been waiting for! I gotta tell you, writing smut is hard (no pun intended). But I did it, and now you can all enjoy my handiwork! On a side note, is it normal to get turned on by your own writing?

The last place Valkyrie would have expected to finally invade Serana's loins was an old, run-down room at the Bee and Barb. And yet here they were, the vampire impatiently hurrying Valkyrie through the doors, then proceeding to lock them, before turning around and eyeing the Nord the way a sabre cat eyed its prey.

Serana didn't even bother moving to the bed, preferring instead to playfully shove Valkyrie against the wall. Their lips met, almost violenty, as the vampire worked her mouth around the Nord's, meeting and parting their lips just slowly enough to make Valkyrie begin to shiver.

Mouth still entagled, Serana put her hands to work on Valkyrie's breasts, gently caressing and massaging them, squeezing lightly enough that she hoped to get a louder reaction out of the Nord. No such luck this time, but the vampire didn't mind. She had all the time in the world, and was going to make good use of it.

After a minute or two of being the submissive one, Valkyrie introduced her tongue to Serana's, to which the vampire offered no resistance. As their tongues became entangled in one another, exchanging saliva between mouths, Serana began to get rougher with Valkyrie's breasts, squeezing harder, being a bit more careless with how they were handled, which in turn made the Nord moan with satisfaction.

"Oh, fuck..."

Serana took Valkyrie's outburst as a sign to start going further, as the vampire removed her mouth from her lover's, now opting to place her head just on Valkyrie's shoulder, so as to drive the Nord wild with her heavy breathing, and also to tease...

"Gods, I want you so bad right now." The vampire groaned seductively in her ear.

Valkyrie responded by placing her hands on Serana's ass cheeks, and pressing herself against the vampire.

"Then fucking TAKE me." was her desperate plea of a response.

Serana removed her head from the Nord's shoulder, as she once again adorned that devilish grin.

"Oh, no. I've gotta make you work for it first."

Serana began to unzip Valkyrie's armor, in the Nord's eyes, at an agonizingly slow pace. As the zip was falling, Serana refocused the use of her mouth, this time on Valkyrie's neck. As she was being driven crazy with anticipation, Valkyrie began to violently bite at her own lips, wanting nothing more than for Serana to dominate her.

The zipper was completely down now, and although Serana could have easily thrown Valkyrie's clothes off, she resisted her instincts and took her time, ever so slowly working her mouth from the Nord's neck downward onto her chest.

The feeling of Serana's mouth on her made Valkyrie's loins drench themselves. She was so turned on, and so racked with impatience, that the Nord, every so subtly, began to push down on the vampire's head, as to refocus her mouth on Valkyrie's nether-regions. But Serana was no idiot, as she sensed the Nord's intentions, and less-than-politely removed her hands. She was in control here, and Valkyrie was just going to have to go the pace that she wanted.

But the vampire was not without compassion. Serana worked her mouth further downward, this time going down onto her knees and settling on Valkyrie's stomach, all the while using her hands to help remove Valkyrie's cuirass completely. The now half-naked Nord's arousal, combined with the overwhelming impatience for Serana to just hurry up and fuck her, led her to subconciously put her hands down on the vampire's shoulders, where Serana's mouth and tongue were still at work on her stomach. At first, Valkyrie was gentle with the vampire's shoulders, slowly and softly working her hands as though she were giving Serana a massage.

But as the vampire's mouth continued to work on her stomach, Valkyrie found her hands becoming more careless. She began to get more rough with Serana's shoulders, which in ended up turning the vampire on as well. Valkyrie kept getting rougher, until she unintentionally found herself beginning to dig her fingernails into Serana, who saw this as the perfect to stop teasing and get down to it.

The vampire clutched at the waistband of Valkyrie's pants, carefully maneuvering them downward, revealing the Nord's eagerly drenched womanhood underneath. Serana stood up to remove her own clothes, still taking her precious time, so as to drive Valkyrie crazy. The two stood in silence for a moment, completely naked as they admired the well-endowed physique of one another, before Serana took Valkyrie's hand and led the Nord to the bed.

After playfully shoving Valkyrie down onto her back, Serana once again took up her dominant position on top. Where as before, the Nord had always had those pesky leggings and smallclothes in the way of Serana and her womanhood, now there was nothing. The vampire gently slid a single finger into Valkyrie's heat, making the Nord moan and grow short of breath.

"Oh, fuck yeah..."

Serana smiled that devious smile once again, as she sped the pace of her finger, making the Nord crazy with desire. Before too long, she noticed Valkyrie's breathing becoming heavier, her muscles contracting, and if Serana wasn't mistaken... she was actually starting to drool. The vampire added a second finger into Valkyrie's folds, the extra girth inside her making the Nord insatiable.

"C'mon, harder..."

It almost sounded like she was begging for it, to which Serana was only too happy to comply. The vampire quickened her pace once again, her hands and fingers pumping almost viciously, hell-bent on making Valkyrie cry out with pleasure, to which the Nord offered no resistance. Valkyrie's moans of satisfaction soon turned to lust-filled screams, as Serana relentlessy slid her fingers in and out of the Nord's womanhood.

"OH, GODS, YES!"

Valkyrie let out only a few more of these yelps before, for the lengthiest of moments, her breath escaped her. Every muscle, every bone, every fiber in the Nord's body was on fire, contracting in perfect unison, appendages curling against their will, embracing the touch of the heavens as Valkyrie succumbed into a complete orgasm.

The Nord lay motionless on the bed for a moment, as content and satisfied as one could be, prepared to let sleep take her, when a gentle hand on her throat pulled her back into conciousness. It was Serana's.

"I certainly hope you weren't planning on falling asleep on me." The vampire moaned seductively.

"I kind of was..." came Valkyrie's only response, followed by a brief chuckle.

"Oh, no. I'm not even close to being done with you." 


	38. Chapter 29

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some people have been asking what happened to King Of Thieves. I wasn't happy with how it was going, so I'm re-writing it. Honestly, though, I'm not even sure it'll make a return because I've got so many ideas for stories swimming around in my noggin right now, including an Assassin's Creed story, and many of them are far superior to KOT. I guess we'll see...

"Where in Oblivion have you been?!"

As predicted, Isran was furious. It was understandable, though. Valkyrie and Serana had been gone for weeks without so much as a goodbye. Everyone had been worried, except for Isran himself, who was convinced that Valkyrie had let Serana turn her, and had run off to join the Volkihars. The others had tried to tell the Redguard that he was just paranoid, as always. But now, here the two women were, gone after almost a month, bursting through the front doors of Fort Dawnguard with smiles so wide, they could have cracked their faces in half.

"Isran, we-"

"Don't you dare make excuses! I want the truth!"

It seemed the Redguard expected an explanation, although Valkyrie assumed he wasn't in an accepting mood. Still, though, when the Nord unsheathed Auriel's Bow from its harness, the look on Isran's face was worth a fortune.

"Is that... what I think it is?"

"It is, Isran. Auriel's Bow." Serana piped up.

No one was really sure what to do now. Here was Auriel's Bow, the legendary weapon of untold Divine power, in the hands of the Dawnguard, away from the prying fingertips of Harkon and his minions. One would think this would mark the end of Valkyrie and Serana's journey. They had done it all together, faced certain death, saved each other's live on countless occasions, confessed their love for one another, and even kept an entire city awake with their throes of passion. What more was there to be done? Plenty, as far as Serana was concerned...

"I assume you both know what we have to do now."

"Yes." Isran replied grimly. "I'll gather everyone in the main hall."

Valkyrie, as usual, was confused.

"What? What do we have to do?" She asked after Isran had left.

"Look, we may have Auriel's Bow, but we're not done." the vampire replied. "It won't take long for my father to find out that we have it. He'll keep chasing us for the rest of our lives. We have to end this, Valkyrie."

Valkyrie bore a grim look on her face, and nodded in agreement. She had been worried what Serana would think about having to kill her own father, but the vampire had apparently come to terms with it. Truthfully, though, Valkyrie was looking forward to it. It was true vengeance thirteen years in the making. The time for her to look into the eyes of the monster who had murdered her family all those years ago, and watch as the light left his eyes.

Isran's harsh tone cut Valkyrie back to reality. It was time. Every member of the Dawnguard was now gathered in the main hall. Valkyrie placed herself amongst them, preparing for the inevitable speech that Isran was about to give. She took a moment to look over these brave people, who had dedicated their lives to protecting Skyrim from vampires, knowing that even the slightest hint of weakness would have them killed.

Florentius, as obviously insane as he was, had proven that he was a force to be reckoned with. Apparently, while Valkyrie and Serana had been away retrieving Auriel's Bow, there had been a massive vampire attack on Fort Dawnguard, during which the Imperial killed no less than thirty vampires with his bare hands alone.

Then, of course, there was Sorine Jurard, who, in the early weeks, had taught Valkyrie so much about marksmanship that she had truly become a thing to be feared when she had a bow in her hands. And then Gunmar, the big, brutish Nord who had sharpened her smithing skills to a razor sharp point. When this was all over, she needed to introduce him to Moth and Ghorza.

Even Amgaer, the little runt who had nearly pissed himself on the first day, had proven to have the fight of a wild sabre cat in him.

And of course, there was Durak. The old Orc who had recruited Valkyrie into the Dawnguard in the first place, and who the Nord was closer with than the rest of her fellow hunters. In truth, Durak was the closest thing she had to a brother since Gronmir, and the Nord felt a bit guilty for allowing herself to be distanced from him, as well as the rest of the Dawnguard in past weeks.

And these were just the ones she interacted with regularly. There were countless other Dawnguard soldiers who had joined the cause recently. Beleval, Celann, Ingjard, Tilde, Vori. She knew them all and was proud to call these warriors her comerades.

"Listen up, everyone!" Isran boomed as he began his speech. "At long last, we have finally gained the upper hand! Valkyrie and Serana returned this very morning with none other than Auriel's Bow itself!"

The two women couldn't help but smile.

"This means that the Gods themselves have favored us, and have given us the key to preventing this accursed prophecy from ever coming to pass!"

A few rallying cries from the group, to indicate their joy and success.

"But we are not done yet! The day has not been won while Harkon still walks Nirn!"

Isran's stance grew ever-more intense as he unsheathed his specially made warhammer.

"We will march on Castle Volkihar, and destroy Harkon and the bloodsucking scum who serve him once and for all! The Gods are with us, and so this is our time! The time... OF THE DAWNGUARD!," 


	39. Chapter 30

The moment of truth had come at last...

Here Valkyrie stood, on the shores of the very island which housed Castle Volkihar. She had Serana at her side, and a band of elite vampire hunters at her back. She knew quite well, also, that she may never walk out of the castle alive. But now was not the time for worrying. A battle for the ages awaited, and she, along with her fellow Dawnguard, needed to prepare. She saw Sorine handing out new, improved, Dwemer-influenced crossbows. Not that Valkyrie needed them, after all, she had Auriel's Bow. She saw Florentius down on his knees, no doubt praying to Arkay for protection. She saw Durak doing some kind of bizarre exercise, apparently trying to warm himself up for the upcoming fight. One person who wasn't joining in on the preparation, however, was Serana.

While the rest of the group was busy bracing themselves, the vampire had chosen instead to sit behind on the docks. That is, until Valkyrie decided to intrude on her brooding.

"Are you alright?" The Nord asked as she sat down beside her vampire companion.

After a brief silence, Serana responded with "No, I'm not."

"I'm sorry, Serana. I know this can't be easy for you."

More silence. Serana's face was expressionless, but her eyes twinged with pain, discomfort, and regret. She spoke again...

"Harkon is a bastard. He's an evil, psychotic piece of skeever shit who fed me and my mother to a Daedric Prince, for no other reason than to advance his own goals. He deserves to die the most horrible death imaginable. But..."

Another pause, as Serana considered her words.

"...even after all that, he's still my father. And I still have to kill him."

Before the vampire had a chance to lament any further, she felt Valkyrie's hand on her cheekbone, pulling their heads closer to one another, before inevitably meeting their lips.

"No matter what happens, I'm with you."

"Thank you, Valkyrie."

Serana pressed her lips against the Nord's once more, as though trying to smother whatever pain and guilt she was feeling. It didn't work, of course. However, it would be driven away from her mind by the Nord's choice of words when their lips finally parted.

"I love you."

Serana chuckled, before replying, "I love you, too."

After a brief silence, the two decided to rejoin their fellow Dawnguard soldiers in preparation. Serana, for some inane reason, chose to go and meditate with Florentius, while Valkyrie decided to join Durak with his bizarre excercises. However, before she could reach the Orc, she was ambushed by the all-too-familiar sight of an extremely pissed off Isran.

"Did you have fun trading spit with the vampire?"

Fuck, Valkyrie thought. This won't end well.

"You... uh... you saw that?"

"Of course I did. I see everything, remember?"

Valkyrie sighed. It was true. Nothing ever went on in a ten-mile radius of Isran that the Redguard didn't know about. It was only fitting that he now knew about what was transpiring between Valkyrie and Serana. The Nord, however, was not about to let Isran dictate her love life.

"Yeah, we're together, Isran. I love her, and I don't care what you have to say about it."

Not even the Elder Scrolls themselves could have predicted what would happen next. Isran's face began to contort in a very unfamiliar manner, almost like a smile, and the sound that escaped his lungs could only be... a chuckle? Was he actually amused by this? All this time, Valjyrie had guessed that Isran would have torn her head off for having this kind of relationship with Serana, yet here he was, laughing at it. The Redguard put a hand on her shoulder, and spoke once more.

"You don't have to worry about anything from me. Serana's proven herself trustworthy. I'm just surprised it took you two this long."

He removed his hand from the Nord's shoulder, and left Valkyrie bewildered.

"What do you mean 'this long'?"

"I knew this was coming ever since she first set foot in the Fort. I saw the way you looked at her."

The fact that Isran was now referring to Serana as "her" instead of "it" at least suggested he was telling the truth about trusting the vampire, but Valkyrie still wasn't certain that the Redguard had known about this before even she had.

"And what makes you think that there was something special about the way I looked at her?"

"Because I used to look at Carcette the same way."

Who in Oblivion was Carcette? Valkyrie could swear she had heard the name before, but was not quite sure where. She remembered Isran had made brief mention of a 'Carcette' the day he had sent her to Dimhollow. Yes, it was coming back to her now. Tolund, the now dead Vigilant had told Isran that Carcette was dead. This Carcette, also, had apparently been the leader of Skyrim's chapter of the Vigilants Of Stendarr. And Isran had been a Vigilant at one point... oh. Things began to make much more sense now.

"I... I'm sorry, Isran."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

Another brief silence, before the Redguard spoke again.

"You'd best get ready. We attack at sunrise."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As much as I hate filler chapters, sometimes they just have to happen. I've been having major writer's block lately, and on top of that, I have a new job that demands ALOT of my attention. But I'll hopefully put the next chapter up sometime in the next few days. The Battle of Castle Volkihar awaits! 


	40. Chapter 31

A thunderous crash, and the front doors of Castle Volkihar came unhinged and fell to the floor, and in their absence marched in three of Gunmar's armored battle trolls, followed by the Dawnguard themselves, crying out in fury to their vampire nemesies. It was the ultimate stroke of luck, as the vampires had no idea they were coming, and as such, were caught completely off-guard.

Isran led the charge, his warhammer drawn, bashing in the head of a Bosmer vampire upon entry. Valkyrie, who came up behind the Redguard, almost felt sorry for the poor fool. He never stood a chance.

Drawing her dagger, Valkyrie made her way into the main hall, where, after scanning the room for a free target, she felt someone jump onto her back and wrap their arms around her neck. The Nord felt her oxygen being cut off by whoever was on her, and instinctively made a desperate, awkward looking stab at her attacker's head, when she felt her blade collide with undead flesh.

"AARRRRGGHH..."

The vampire's howl of agony forced her to let go of Valkyrie's neck, who was now able to turn and face her attacker. It was a female vampire, but even without the fresh dagger wound and a newly missing eye, her face was so misshapen that the Nord couldn't possibly tell what race she was.

"By the Gods, you're ugly."

"You little shit! I am Fura Bloodmouth! I am the enforcer for Lord Harkon himself! I am-"

The vampire's rant was cut short as Valkyrie plunged her dagger into its jugular vein.

"History." The Nord finished for her.

Valkyrie turned back around. As she observed the scene, the Nord came to the conclusion that this hadn't been a battle at all, it had been a massacre. The corpses of the Volkihar clan littered the main hall and the surrounding rooms. As it looked, there were only three vampires left. A Nord, a Dunmer, and the Altmer who had threatened her the first time she had walked into the castle. Although the three were vastly outnumbered, they were holding their own against at least seven Dawnguard soldiers. That is, until Valkyrie decided to finally test the power of Auriel's Bow for herself.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!" Valkyire screamed as she removed the Bow from its harness.

The Altmer vampire didn't even have time to look over before a Sunhallowed arrow found its way into his throat. That wasn't all, however, as the arrow exploded in a ray of nearly blinding light upon impact, which ended up setting the Nord vampire on fire. The two were dead before they hit the ground.

After just barely escaping the blast of light, the Dunmer vampire dropped his weapon and got on his knees.

"Stop! Please, I surrender!"

Unfortunately for him, Isran was the nearest Dawnguard soldier to his vicinity, and the Redguard was not in a mood for taking prisoners. He readied his warhammer for one final blow...

"Isran, wait!"

Valkyrie looked up at where the voice had come from. It was Serana, up on the balcony next to a pile of corpses. The vampire jumped down onto the floor, before marching over to the Dunmer, grabbing him by the throat, and shoving him against the wall.

"Where is he?" was all she asked.

"My lady, please, I-"

Serana tightened her grip.

"Don't waste my time, Garan. Where is he?"

"He... he's in... in his shrine room." The Dunmer gasped out, desperately holding onto what little breath Serana was allowing him.

Serana was satisfied with his answer, as she let go of Garan's neck, who promptly fell to the floor. Isran, now free to smash one final skull, readied his warhammer.

"No, wait!"

"By the Gods, what now?!"

Isran sheathed his hammer, the Dunmer vampire continued to beg for his life, or lack thereof.

"I- I could be a great asset to you. I was one of Harkon's primary advisors."

"All the more reason for you to die!" Isran growled, his hands aching from holding his hammer so tight.

Garan slowly stood up, dusting himself off, and both Serana and Valkyrie, who had been standing back the whole time, were geniunely intrigued as to what the Dunmer had to say. The same could not be said for Isran, who was growing impatient and restless.

"I will not deny that I have done terrible things under Harkon's leadership. But you must understand, fear can make a man do things that most others cannot comprehend. Every village I've ever raided, every innocent life I've ever taken, was purely out of fear of my master."

Valkyrie caught a glimpse of Serana rolling her eyes.

"I know that does not excuse my actions, but, since Harkon has obviously met his match, I... I wish to... switch sides, if you will."

Silence. Was this vampire really offering himself as a prisoner? Valkyrie and Isran both looked over at Serana, who appeared lost in contemplation. Having Garan around would be a great benefit to the Dawnguard, but the real question was whether or not the Dunmer could be trusted.

"I..." Serana spoke. "I don't know. You seem geniune enough, but..."

Her voice trailed off, no doubt still weighing the decision in her head. Serana turned to Isran.

"It's your call."

Valkyrie was expecting Isran to unsheathe his warhammer and crush Garan's skull with no hesitation. However, much to everyone's surprise, the Redguard stayed his weapon, and weighed the decision for himself.

"Gods damn it..." he cursed. "Fine. You can stay, but we're going to have eyes on you twenty four seven."

"Thank you, my friend. You will not re-"

"Shut up!" Isran cut him off forcefully.

Serana looked over at Valkyrie.

"Well, just one more to take down."

Valkyrie took a deep breath and nodded. After thirteen years, it was time to face Harkon. She followed Serana up the stairs, followed herself by Isran and a few other soldiers. In truth, she was terrified. She wanted nothing more than to leave the castle and go home to Fort Dawnguard. But alas, duty called, and Serana would never forgive her she made the vampire face her father alone. Not only that, but the Nord had a family to avenge. She thought of her brother and father, watching from Sovngarde. No doubt they were proud of her right now. The Nord took yet another breath, and prepared to face her fears. Serana stopped in front of the doors to Harkon's shrine, turning to the Dawnguard.

"Listen. Either me and Valkyrie are going to walk out of here, or Harkon is. And if it's him, don't take any chances. Destroy him."

Isran and his fellows nodded.

Serana turned back to Valkyrie, now at her side, as the two walked through the giant wooden doors...

... and were greeted by the sight of an empty room.

Harkon had fled the castle. 


	41. Epilogue

"Durnehviir!"

Nothing. Valkyrie silently cursed in frustration.

It had been close to three weeks since Harkon's disappearance, and the Dawnguard had been restlessly searching for him, but it was as if the mad vampire had vanished into the wind. Serana, it seemed, was more intent on finding him than anyone else, but alas, she had no better luck.

"Durnehviir!"

Still nothing. Gods damn it.

Garan Morethi, the Dunmer vampire who had offered himself as a prisoner back at Castle Volkihar, seemed to be adjusting to his new life quite well. Before being a member of Harkon's court, he had served as an advisor to no less than three of the Great Houses of Morrowind. He was a brilliant strategist, and thanks to Harkon, had extensive knowledge of vampire activity throughout all of Skyrim, and even regions in northern Cyrodiil. For a vampire, he was alright.

"Durnehviir!"

Nothing.

After Harkon's disappearance, Valkyrie and Serana had ventured back into the Soul Cairn in an attempt to convince Valerica to return to Tamriel, which she had flat out refused. The elder vampire was adamant that whether Harkon had disappeared or not, he would likely sense Valerica's return to Tamriel, and therefore, they would all be in danger.

"Durnehviir!"

Nothing.

"FUCK!"

"Are you still out here?"

Serana's voice nearly made Valkyrie jump. The Nord had been out in the canyon leading up to Fort Dawnguard since at least midday. The sun was now setting, and it would be time for dinner soon.

"Yeah, I'm still out here." Valkyrie sighed

"What exactly are you doing?"

"You remember that dragon we fought in the Soul Cairn?"

"Yeah?"

"He said I just had to call his name from Mundus, and he'd be here."

"And why are you trying to bring an enormous winged beast here?"

"I..." Valkyrie paused, choosing her words carefully. "I don't know. I just have this... feeling in my gut. DURNEHVIIR!"

Still nothing. Valkyrie breathed a sigh of near defeat, as she sat down on the ground. Serana joined her. It wasn't until now that the Nord got a good look at her vampiric lover. Serana's normally fine-pressed hair was in utter disarray, as though she had just gotten out of bed. Her skin was much paler than usual, even for a vampire, and her eyes kept trying to force their way closed, despite Serana's best efforts to keep them open. Vampires were not prone to succumbing to exhaustion, but it appeared Serana was pressing her limits in her efforts to find Harkon.

"Serana..."

"Hmm?"

The vampire responded as innocently as possible, as though nothing was wrong. Valkyrie didn't fall for it.

"You... you look..." The Nord tried to choose her words carefully.

"Yeah, I know I look awful. You don't need to say it." The vampire said shamefully.

"You need to take a break, Serana. You're running yourself into the ground."

"How can I rest knowing that my father is still out there?!"

"Yes. He's out there. And we WILL find him. But in the meantime..."

The Nord stopped her own sentence as her head began to fill with wicked ideas. She moved her head in closer to the vampire, before allowing her lips to make gentle contact with Serana's neck.

"In the meantime, I think you need to... loosen up."

Before the Nord could even think about continuing her assault, Serana was on her, pushing Valkyrie to the ground and climbing on top of her. Their mouths met one another, lips, tongues, and saliva entangled like a delicate dance. Serana put her hands to work, squeezing at Valkyrie's breasts, resisting the urge to tear the Nord's armor asunder and ravage her like a wild sabre cat.

"Actually..." Serana said as she broke her mouth away from Valkyrie's. "I don't think we should do this outside. Too dirty."

"I thought that was the whole point?" Valkyrie responded with a smirk.

The Nord's comment earned her a playful smack across the top of the head. Worth it, she thought to herself as Serana helped her off the ground.

The two stood in silence for a brief moment, before they found themselves in a deja vu, staring into each other's eyes. Before Valkyrie could even say anything, Serana had wrapped her arms around the Nord, squeezing tighter than she ever had before, before whispering in her ear...

"I love you... so much."

Valkyrie began to return the hug, squeezing just as forcefully.

"I love you, too."

After resisting Serana's pleas to come back up to the Fort and eat dinner, opting instead to stay in the canyon for a bit longer trying to summon Durnehviir, Valkyrie accepted the vampire's threats of dragging her back by her hair if she wasn't back in an hour as a fitting punishment.

"Durnehviir!"

Nothing.

"Durnehviir!"

Still nothing.

Frustration gripped the Nord. Why on Nirn wasn't this working? Was this just some giant joke the dragon had decided to pull on an unsuspecting mortal? Frustration quickly turned to anger as Valkyrie bellowed with all the might in her vocal chords.

"DUR NEH VIIR!"

A blinding flash of brilliant purple light, followed by the unmistakable laugh of the dragon. It had finally worked.

"Ah! I can feel my strength returning! I thank you, Quanahrin. You have honored my last request."

"If you don't mind... um... Durnehviir. I have a question for you."

"Of course, Quanahrin. Ask away."

"Why exactly did you 'honor name' me after our fight in the Cairn?"

"It is tradition among my kind to honor name those who best a fellow dovah in battle."

Fellow dovah? Was this dragon blind?

"Umm... I don't know if you've noticed." The Nord outstretched her arms and looked down at her own body. "But I'm not a dragon."

"Mmm. Krosis. Forgive me, Quanahrin. It was simply my instinct to honor name you. I am uncertain why. I must return to the Soul Cairn now. I can feel my strength fading already. Fare thee well, Quanahrin."

Another flash of light, and the dragon was gone. Valkyrie turned back to head up to the Fort with no shortage of questions. Why had it been that dragon's instinct to honor name her? Over something that seemingly only applied to other dragons? Her pondering was cut short by the booming of Isran marching his way down the path.

"Valkyrie!"

"Isran?"

The Redguard handed her a sheet of paper that was unmistakable as yet another field assignment. She hadn't seen one of these in months, as most of her efforts recently had been directed at helping Serana locate Harkon. She couldn't truthfully say it was a welcome change.

"Oh come on, Isran. I haven't even eaten dinner yet."

"Relax. You don't need to get on this one until tomorrow. Just thought I'd go ahead and give it to you."

"Yeah, yeah." The Nord said with a sigh. "So what exactly is the mission?"

"We've reports that a vampire is posing as a pilgrim in a small settlement in northern Falkreath. Garan has confirmed that this matches the MO of that area's vampires."

"Which town?"

"Helgen."

END OF BOOK ONE 


	42. Final Author's Note

I know, I know. Some of you are pissed that I left the story on such a massive cliffhanger. Don't worry you sexy little heads about it, though. Harkon WILL be back. But not until much, much, much, much, much, much, much, MUCH later. I have big plans in store for that bastard.

In any case, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! Book Two: Blood, will be up in a few days! 


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